Sports

The Senate has a reported plan to hold a cloture vote on the Protect College Sports Act between September 15 and 23, but no authoritative source confirms 60 committed votes to advance the bill. The Congressional Black Caucus and AFL-CIO have announced opposition, several Republican senators have not pledged support, and a successful cloture vote would only open the next procedural stage rather than constitute final passage. Even if the Senate clears that hurdle, the bill would still face separate legislative and coalition barriers in the House, where a companion measure was pulled in May 2026 after CBC opposition.

A Ninth Circuit panel ruled on August 28, 2026 that federal law likely does not preempt Nevada from regulating Kalshi's sports event contracts, directly contradicting a Third Circuit decision that granted the CFTC exclusive jurisdiction. New Jersey officials have petitioned the Supreme Court, Kalshi has sought en banc rehearing in the Ninth Circuit, and Robinhood Derivatives filed its own Supreme Court petition, leaving the regulatory status of CFTC-registered sports contracts unresolved across jurisdictions. At least four states and Baltimore City have active enforcement actions against Kalshi while the appeals proceed.

A federal judge certified Kalshi's interlocutory appeal of a May 2026 ruling that allowed the Ho-Chunk Nation's IGRA and tribal gaming ordinance claims to proceed, while dismissing RICO, Lanham Act, and Robinhood defendants. The appeal will ask the Seventh Circuit to resolve two unsettled legal questions: whether a tribal gaming ordinance violation is actionable under IGRA's compact-enforcement framework, and whether the Commodity Exchange Act bars tribes from regulating derivatives traded on CFTC-regulated markets. No Seventh Circuit docket number or acceptance order has been confirmed in public records.