Indian Gaming Association chairman David Bean urged tribes to engage with members of Congress over sports prediction markets, reportedly. Bean said the markets offer illegal gambling that violates tribal sovereignty and state compacts. He is due to serve as chair until the next election in April 2027.
Bean’s criticism may guide tribal advocacy against sports prediction markets, which he says violate sovereignty and state compacts.
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The Indian Gaming Association has called on Congress to act against sports betting through prediction markets, which it says violates tribal, federal and state laws, including the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. Chairman David Z. Bean said the Commodity Futures Trading Commission had not determined whether the contracts involve prohibited activity and urged lawmakers to amend the Commodity Exchange Act if the agency does not act.
CFTC chair nominee Michael Selig told the Senate Agriculture Committee that he would follow court decisions on whether sports event contracts constitute gaming. Senators asked how he would address sports prediction markets if confirmed; a confirmation vote was scheduled for that afternoon.
CFTC chair Michael Selig plans to establish a framework for prediction markets and allow sports event contracts, according to the report. He also called for the agency to defend its jurisdiction over commodity derivatives in court.
Industry representatives at the Indian Gaming Association convention said lessons from efforts against sweepstakes operators could inform opposition to prediction markets. California tribes helped secure a 2025 bill targeting sweepstakes businesses, and the article reports that the tribes generated $12bn in gaming revenue that year.
The American Gaming Association and Indian Gaming Association urged the US Congress to act against sports event contracts offered by prediction markets, in a letter signed by their leaders. They argued that the contracts bypass state and tribal oversight and said they reach customers aged 18 and over across 39 states and the District of Columbia. The associations also criticised the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s approach to market self-certification.