New Consumer Advocacy Group “Sports Traders Union” Launches to Push Prediction Market Reforms

A new consumer advocacy group called the Sports Traders Union launched Thursday, aiming to give prediction market bettors a voice that can’t be dismissed as industry-funded messaging. The group is made up primarily of professional bettors with sizable social media followings who actively trade on top prediction market exchanges, including Kalshi.

The Sports Traders Union is pushing for a slate of reforms, starting with raising the minimum participant age on prediction market apps to 21. Most platforms currently allow users as young as 18 to trade sports-related contracts, a policy the group argues should mirror the stricter age standards seen across regulated sportsbooks.

What the Group Is Demanding

Beyond the age minimum, the Sports Traders Union’s initial list of demands touches on product design, marketing practices, and addiction resources — areas that have drawn scrutiny as prediction markets have exploded in popularity among sports fans. The group is also calling on prediction market companies to release data on retail user losses, an ongoing point of frustration among researchers who say the industry has largely kept that information under wraps.

Notably, some of the Sports Traders Union’s funding comes from Novig, a federally regulated exchange. Isaac Rose-Berman, who sits on the group’s advisory board, said the organization operates independently despite that financial backing. The advisory board also includes Jack Andrews, Antonino De Rosa, Rufus Peabody, and Shane Sigsbee — names well known in the sports betting and trading communities.

A Combative Industry Backdrop

The Sports Traders Union enters an industry already defined by sharp-elbowed public disputes. The Coalition for Prediction Markets, a trade association formed to defend exchange betting, has frequently pushed back on criticism of its members — including Kalshi and Robinhood — by characterizing it as coming from a threatened “casino lobby” with self-interested motives.

That dynamic is part of why the Sports Traders Union’s organizers are emphasizing independence. Rose-Berman said the group plans to eventually publish public report cards grading individual prediction market companies on how well they adhere to a proposed code of conduct. He didn’t mince words about how that might land with the platforms being graded, saying he expects companies like Kalshi wouldn’t be “ecstatic” about a poor grade.

The launch comes as prediction markets continue to draw regulatory attention nationwide, with debates over whether platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket should operate under federal commodities rules or be subject to state-level gambling oversight — the same framework that governs traditional sports betting operators. Whether the Sports Traders Union can carve out genuine independence from both sides of that fight, while still holding exchanges accountable, will likely determine how much influence the group ultimately has.