Tennessee lawmakers are pushing ahead with legislation that would make it a felony to try to sway the outcome of events tied to prediction market conduct when money is on the line.

The state Senate signed off on Senate Bill 1992 on Thursday (April 9), backing the proposal 28-1 after first adopting an amendment earlier in the day. The measure mirrors House Bill 2079 and now moves forward as part of a wider effort to regulate emerging online trading platforms built around future events.

The bill creates a new criminal charge aimed at people who attempt to influence outcomes while financially invested in them through prediction market contracts.

New criminal offense targets prediction market conduct in Tennessee

Under the proposal, someone would break the law if they take steps to affect the result of an event while they, or someone working with them, holds a position in a related prediction market. The key issue is financial benefit, whether direct or indirect.

The bill states that a person violates the law by taking such action “while the person or another is a party to a contract with a prediction-market by which the person will benefit, directly or indirectly, from the occurrence of the outcome.”

If convicted, the offense would be treated as a Class E felony in Tennessee.

Lawmakers also lay out a general definition of prediction markets, describing them as “a platform on which individuals trade contracts based on the outcome of unknown future events.” This leaves the law open to covering everything from political outcomes to sports and other speculative markets.

The push comes as the Volunteer State is already locked in legal disputes with several predicti...