The YouGov poll of 2,025 registered voters, conducted from August 1 to 8, found that 85% of respondents said contracts such as betting on the outcome of New York Yankees games were more like gambling than financial instruments. Only 6% said they were similar to commodity or security contracts.

Support for regulation is high among respondents, with 80% saying sports betting contracts should be treated the same as other forms of online sports betting. Two-thirds of respondents said the responsibility for regulation should fall on state and tribal gaming regulators, rather than the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).

 Americans recognize sports betting immediately and expect prediction markets offering contracts on sporting events to be subject to the same rules and consumer safeguards as all other state-regulated sportsbooks,” Bill Miller, president and CEO of the United States Golf Association (AGA) , said in a statement.

He added that the findings “ underscore the need for the CFTC to enforce and uphold its regulations prohibiting gambling contracts , and for Congress to use its oversight authority to ensure prediction markets are not used as a backdoor to gambling.”

The study revealed skepticism towards prediction market operators such as Kalshi, with 70% of respondents saying these companies are exploiting loopholes and acting as unlicensed sportsbooks. Only 16% of respondents supported allowing such platforms to offer contracts without a sports betting license.

The issue has sparked a debate around consumer protection. At a conference in July, Kalshi's legal counsel, Josh Sterling, stated, "People are adults and can spend their money however they want . If they lose it, it's their responsibility." Nearly two-thirds of respondents disagreed, supporting the view that gambling product companies have a responsibility to provide responsible gaming tools .

Legal challenges are also underway. Several California tribes have sued Kalshi , alleging it misled consumers by claiming its products advertised sports betting as “legal in all 50 states.”

The American Gaming Association (AGA) said it has created a new landing page to bring together its research and regulatory resources on sports contracts. This latest survey follows another AGA study conducted in July, which found that 90% of sweepstakes game players consider sweepstakes games a form of gambling, and 68% of players said their primary purpose for playing is to win money.