Gambling

University of Utah economics professor Scott Schaefer says the difference lies in how predication markets and traditional gambling are regulated. The question over regulation is what state and federal lawmakers are grappling with.

When it comes to prediction markets, if it “walks like a duck and quacks like a duck,” Gov. Spencer Cox said. “It's a duck” — meaning the apps are gambling, and should be banned in Utah.

Utah is at the forefront of a states' rights battle with prediction markets like Kalshi and Polymarket. It's over the definition of gambling and whether states can keep these smartphone apps out.