Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown, New Hampshire Sen. Maggie Hassan and others are warning people about potential Super Bowl scams involving tickets and gambling.
Officials said beware of illegal gambling sites and prediction markets like Kalshi and Polymarket. Mr. Brown said such sites can steal personal or financial data or even refuse to pay out winnings.
Ms. Hassan, a Democrat and ranking member on the Joint Economic Committee, said in a notice that to avoid scams, people should check sportsbook locations to ensure they’re not based offshore and to ignore posts or messages from people claiming to have inside information on bets.
Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes said in a release that the dangers of illegal sportsbooks can include a lack of “compliance with anti-money laundering law.” She also criticized prediction markets for lacking the “problem gambling” protection legally required for America’s sportsbook apps.
New York Attorney General Letitia James also focused her pregame warning on prediction markets, saying in a release that “so-called prediction markets do not have the same consumer protections as regulated platforms.” She described the outfits, which offer forecasting for the game’s outcome, as “unregulated gambling.”
The Coalition for Prediction Markets, which represents Kalshi and other such platforms, said in a statement to Inc.com that “our members’ platforms are all regulated by the [Commodity Futures Trading Commission], similar to how the [Securities and Exchange Commission] regulates the stock market. Regulation comes with many of the guardrails the AG [Ms. James] outlines — a ban on insider trading, self-exclusion, and responsible trading guidelines.”
Officials have also warned against other nongambling-related scams amid the Super Bowl. Mr. Brown said people should not click on links offering free prizes or tickets, since those could be phishing scams, and to avoid purchasing counterfeit team merchandise or using illegal streaming sites to watch the NFL title game.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta also focused on tickets; Super Bowl 60 is being played Sunday at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, the home venue for the San Francisco 49ers.
Mr. Bonta said extreme discounts on tickets can be too good to be true; the average price of a Super Bowl ticket is around $6,000, according to Ms. Hassan.
Mr. Bonta also recommended that people should read the fine print on refunds before purchasing, stick to verified ticket-sales platforms, use secure payment methods and avoid giving out personal or financial information.
• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.
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