Representatives of the American Gaming Association (AGA) and the Indian Gaming Association (IGA) urged lawmakers to restrict sports event prediction markets during a House Agriculture Subcommittee hearing, arguing that the products undermine state and tribal gaming laws, weaken consumer protections and have already reduced public gaming tax revenue by more than $1.2 billion.
The hearing, titled “Examining Customer Protections and Market Integrity in Sports Event Prediction Markets,” focused largely on oversight of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) . Gaming industry representatives argued that sports prediction markets fall outside the agency’s intended responsibilities.
Industry Groups Raise Regulatory Concerns
IGA Chair David Bean said tribes support legitimate financial markets but oppose sports betting products offered through prediction market platforms.
Bean noted that tribal gaming funds healthcare, education, housing, public safety and infrastructure while supporting more than 682,000 jobs in 2025.
“Prediction markets threaten these rural jobs and revenue generated for tribal and state budgets by violating our laws and regulations,” Bean said. “They claim they are innovators, yet they have invented nothing. Prediction market apps offer bets identical to those of legal regulated sportsbooks – money lines, totals, parlays, and props. The only difference is that prediction markets avoid regulatory systems designed to protect consumers and the integrity of American sports.”
Bean also criticized the accessibility and marketing of the products.
“They advertise on TikTok and hire influencers without revealing the true risks of gambling,” Bean said. “In fact, one CEO attempted to equate sports contracts to financial literacy. This is both misleading and dangerous. Today, thanks to a one-person agency, every teenager with a smart phone can now lose their shirt without leaving their house or dorm room. We are starting to see the devastating impact on our kids’ mental health and financial security. No one voted for this. Congress has not passed any new laws on this matter. This is happening because one person has declared online sports gambling is legal in every state and on every reservation. One man has taken the CTFC from crops to props.”
Bean urged Congress to prohibit sports wagering through prediction market operators.
AGA Cites Tax Revenue Losses
AGA Senior Vice President of Government Relations Christopher Cylke said prediction market operators bypass state and tribal gaming laws.
“The AGA supports responsible financial innovation, but what prediction markets are doing with sports wagering is not innovative,” Cylke said. “Prediction market platforms are using the CFTC to offer nationwide sports betting, while bypassing the state and tribal gaming laws that Congress, states, tribes, regulators, and voters have spent decades building.”
Cylke said the regulated gaming industry supports 1.8 million jobs, contributes about $329 billion to the US economy and generates roughly $53 billion in annual tax revenue. He estimated states and tribes have already lost more than $1.2 billion in gaming taxes.
“This sum is snowballing by the day, and that money should be supporting education, infrastructure, public safety, responsible gaming programs, and tribal communities,” Cylke said.
Source:
“AGA, IGA argue harm from sports betting prediction markets in testimony to Congress”, cdcgaming.com, Jul 21, 2026
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