Massachusetts regulator looking into Robinhood's prediction market Hub: Reuters
Last week, Robinhood launched its in-app prediction center, giving users the ability to bet on the outcome of March Madness games.
Cheyenne Ligon | Edited by Nikhilesh De , Mar 24, 2025 21:04 UTC
What you need to know:
- Massachusetts' top securities regulator is investigating Robinhood over its offerings of event contracts, Reuters reports.
- Last week, Robinhood introduced its Prediction Market Hub on the Kalshi platform, allowing users to bet on college basketball tournament results and the federal funds rate target for May.
Massachusetts' top securities regulator has reportedly launched an investigation into Robinhood over the popular trading platform's recent decision to open an in-game market prediction center that allows customers to bet on the outcome of events including March Madness games.
Massachusetts Secretary of State Bill Galvin, known for his proactive stance on regulation, last week asked Robinhood for data on the number of Robinhood users in Massachusetts who were interested in college sports betting, as well as copies of the company's related marketing materials, according to Reuters on Monday.
“This is just another stunt by a company that is cleverly trying to distract investors from making smart investments,” Galvin told Reuters. Galvin’s office confirmed the investigation to CoinDesk and added that Robinhood’s response to the inquiry is due by April 3.
Robinhood’s prediction market, powered by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)-regulated Kalshi platform, launched on March 17 with contracts on events related to March Madness and another related to the federal funds target rate for May. At the time of the launch, Robinhood told CoinDesk that it had been in discussions with the CFTC “in recent weeks” ahead of the launch.
A Robinhood spokesperson confirmed that the event contracts offered through their prediction center are “CFTC regulated and offered through CFTC registered entities.”
“Prediction markets are becoming increasingly important for both retail and institutional investors, and we are proud to be one of the first platforms to offer these products to retail clients in a secure and regulated manner,” the spokesperson added.
The trading platform previously attempted to launch its forecast center in February, ahead of the Super Bowl, but delayed the launch at the request of the CFTC.
