Bets on Alito Show Supreme Court Tangled in Prediction Markets

Gaming attorney Joshua Kirschner was interviewed for a Bloomberg Law article about prediction market wagers on Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito's potential retirement and the implications they carry for the high court. Wagers on when Alito will step down have reached nearly $6 million since February, putting the U.S. Supreme Court in the novel position of being the subject of prediction market activity and the potential decider of its regulatory future as cases make their way through the federal docket. Josh, who serves as deputy team leader of the firm's National Gaming Team, told Bloomberg Law when the justices review petitions about whether state gaming law or federal Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) regulations should cover prediction market activities, they will likely consider the social implications of allowing bettors to profit from democratic and judicial processes, whether a local election outcome or a judge's potential retirement.

"This is not a court that is reactionarily prudish to any sort of vice behavior," he said. "But it does involve this larger question around what we want to allow under law and as a society...People love a live event. [Elections] are massive live events."

READ: Bets on Alito Show Supreme Court Tangled in Prediction Markets (Subscription required)