New York’s attorney general sued Coinbase Financial Markets and Gemini Titan on Tuesday, claiming their prediction markets violate state laws against illegal gambling.
In complaints filed in a state court in Manhattan, Attorney General Letitia James said Coinbase and Gemini failed to obtain New York State Gaming Commission licenses to operate their markets, where people trade based on the predicted outcomes of events such as sports and elections.
James said that because the outcomes are outside bettors’ control or amount to games of chance, they fit New York’s legal definition of gambling. She also said Coinbase and Gemini let 18- to 20-year-olds use their platforms, though state law sets a minimum age of 21 for mobile sports betting.
“Gambling by another name is still gambling, and it is not exempt from regulation under our state laws and Constitution,” James said in a statement.
James is seeking to recoup illegal profits, civil fines equal to triple those profits, and restitution to customers. She also wants to ban Coinbase and Gemini from letting people under 21 wager, and from marketing their platforms on college campuses.
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