The briefing, held in the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs meeting room, brought together tribal leaders, national and state gaming associations, and consumer protection experts to address the rapid expansion of sports-linked contracts listed under the oversight of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
“Sports event contracts being offered through prediction markets are the biggest threat to Indian gaming since IGRA was introduced to restrict Indian Gaming,” IGA Chairman Bean said. “They are not innovative financial tools. They are illegal sports betting products being routed through futures exchanges to avoid gaming law. That is a direct attack on tribal sovereignty.”
Speakers argued that the contracts, which are listed on futures and derivatives markets originally designed for risk management in agriculture and other commodities, function in practice as sports betting products without adhering to gaming regulations.
“These products are for sports betting. They walk like sports betting. They pay out like sports betting. The only difference is that they are being dressed up as financial swaps to evade regulation,” Bean said.
Panelists said that, unlike tribal and state-regulated sportsbooks, the platforms offering sports event contracts lack geofencing controls, do not provide meaningful consumer protections, often rely on self-reported age verification, and do not share revenue with states or tribes.
Tribal leaders pointed to complaints filed with the CFTC following the Super Bowl over disputed wagers and outcome determinations, which they said highlighted the absence of regulatory clarity and safeguards common in tribal gaming operations.
The tribal leader panel, moderated by IGA Executive Director Jason Giles, included Chief Kirk Francis of the Penobscot Nation and Councilwoman Hermenia Frias of the Pascua Yaqui Tribe. They said gaming revenues fund healthcare, housing, education, and public safety services in their communities.
“Prediction markets provide no benefit to tribal communities,” Bean said. “They extract value without consent, without compacting, and without accountability.”
A separate panel featuring representatives from tribal and commercial gaming groups, including the American Gaming Association, presented what organisers described as a unified industry position.
“The entire gaming industry, commercial and tribal, is united,” Bean said. “Tribal nations are unified with States to stop this illegal betting market. We are asking Congress to step in before irreversible damage is done to state and tribal budgets and our citizens' livelihoods.”
Tribal leaders also raised concerns about the CFTC’s stance that such contracts are not illegal under the Commodity Exchange Act. Recent comments by CFTC Chair Michael Selig were cited as signalling a more direct agency role in ongoing legal disputes surrounding prediction markets.
“Congress established the framework for gaming in this country. If federal regulators reinterpret commodities law to authorize nationwide sports betting, that undermines Congress, undermines States and Tribes, and undermines the rule of law,” Bean said.
The IGA and its partners are urging senators to include clarifying language in pending cryptocurrency marketplace legislation to affirm that the Commodity Exchange Act does not authorize sports wagering through derivatives markets. Lawmakers were also asked to sign a bipartisan letter to the CFTC addressing the agency’s recent statements and calling for stronger oversight.
“Tribal gaming is the most regulated form of gaming in the United States. We built this industry responsibly under IGRA. We negotiated compacts. We follow strict regulatory standards. We share revenue. What we are seeing now is an attempt to bypass all of that. Indian Country will not allow illegal gambling to erode decades of hard work and sovereignty,” Bean said.
The Indian Gaming Association will continue working with tribal governments, gaming associations, and members of Congress to press for enforcement of federal law and protection of tribal rights.
Dingnews.com 20/02/2026