Crypto.com will suspend its sports prediction market operations in Nevada after reaching an agreement with state regulators to pause activities while it appeals a federal court decision. The Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB) confirmed that the platform will cease offering sports event contracts to residents after November 3, 2025, until the appeal is resolved.
Federal Court Decision and Agreement with Regulators
Earlier in October, U.S. District Judge Andrew P. Gordon rejected Crypto.com’s motion for a preliminary injunction against the NGCB. The company had sought to prevent the regulator from enforcing Nevada’s laws that classify its sports event contracts as wagering activities requiring a state gaming license.
Following the court’s decision on October 14, the NGCB issued a formal notice to licensees, stating that Crypto.com “will no longer hold open positions in sports event contracts for Nevada residents and will not permit new contracts to be opened.” The regulator confirmed that the operator has agreed to suspend activity voluntarily while pursuing its appeal.
As Substack reports, citing Howard Stutz of The Nevada Independent as the first report, the notice added that this pause marks the first instance in which a designated contract market regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has halted operations in an individual state. A comparable situation arose earlier in the year when Robinhood temporarily withdrew its own sports event contracts through a separate partnership with Kalshi.
In a detailed statement, NGCB chair Kirk Hendrick and enforcement counsel Edward Dreitzer emphasized the Board’s duty to safeguard Nevada’s gaming ecosystem. “As licensees are probably aware, the Board has been working diligently to uphold its charge to protect the safety, morals, good order, and general welfare of the inhabitants of the state, to foster the stability and success of gaming, and to preserve the competitive economy and policies of free competition of the state of Nevada,” Dreitzer said.
The NGCB reiterated its earlier position that sports event contracts, including those listed on CFTC-regulated exchanges, qualify as forms of wagering under Nevada law. According to the notice, “The Board considers sports event contracts, or certain other events contracts, to constitute a wagering activity under state law. Wagering occurs whether the contract is listed on an exchange regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission or elsewhere.”
Examples of activities the Board classifies as wagering include markets tied to the outcomes of sports and athletic events, as well as entertainment and cultural contests such as the Oscars, esports tournaments, and political elections.
Licensing Requirements and Broader Implications
The NGCB reaffirmed that operators seeking to offer such event-based markets within Nevada must hold a non-restricted gaming license with sports pool approval and meet all operational standards applicable to sports wagering. “If a Nevada licensee chooses to offer sports and other event contracts in Nevada or decides to partner with other entities offering sports and other event contracts in the state, the Board will consider these developments as it evaluates the suitability of the entity to maintain a Nevada gaming license,” Dreitzer said.
He further cautioned that conducting unlicensed wagering activities in other jurisdictions or associating with entities doing so could impact a licensee’s standing in Nevada. “Engaging in unlawful sports wagering in another state or entering into a business relationship with another entity offering unlawful sports wagering in another state may call into question the good character and integrity of the licensee,” the notice stated.
Crypto.com’s dispute coincides with increasing scrutiny of prediction markets and their intersection with sports betting regulation. While Underdog Fantasy partners with Crypto.com for similar event contracts, it does not operate in Nevada. Kalshi, another CFTC-regulated platform, previously secured a preliminary injunction in its own Nevada case.
Separately, Bloomberg reported that President Donald Trump has nominated Michael Selig—currently the chief counsel of the SEC’s crypto task force—to chair the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Selig’s confirmation is expected to include questions surrounding the expansion of prediction markets into sports-related contracts, an area now under sharper federal and state examination.
