TLDR
- Tribal leaders told a Senate committee that sports prediction markets act like sports betting without following tribal gaming rules.
- They said federal commodities law is being used to skip licensing and consumer protections required under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.
- Witnesses raised concerns that crypto legislation, the CLARITY Act, could open another loophole through its decentralized finance provisions.
- Tribal gaming generated $46.2 billion in revenue in 2025, and leaders worry prediction markets could cut into that money.
- No CFTC or prediction market company representative attended the roundtable to respond.
Tribal gaming leaders asked Congress to step in and control sports prediction markets. They say these platforms use federal commodities law to offer products that work like nationwide sports betting.
The Senate Indian Affairs Committee held a roundtable on August 4. Tribal representatives said sports contracts compete directly with regulated gaming but skip the licensing and consumer protection rules tribes must follow.
Prediction market operators say their products are financial derivatives. They argue this puts them under the Commodity Futures Trading Commission instead of state or tribal gaming law.
Tribes and a growing number of states disagree. They say these sports contracts are sports bets no matter what name is used.
Sports Contracts Compared to Bets
Senate Vice Chairman Brian Schatz said a person can bet on an NBA team winning the championship through a sportsbook or a prediction market app. He said the experience feels the same either way.
Jamie Hummingbird, chairman of the National Tribal Gaming Commissioners and Regulators, said calling a bet a contract does not change what it is. He pointed to DraftKings and FanDuel dropping their Nevada betting license plans to focus on prediction markets instead.
Tehassi Hill of the Indian Gaming Association said prediction markets offer the same features as sportsbooks. These include money lines, totals, parlays and player props.
Hill said tribes spend more than $450 million each year on licensing, audits, age checks and other regulation. He said prediction markets have not created anything new.
Crypto Bill Raises New Concerns
Mark Macarro of the National Congress of American Indians said nothing in commodities law history suggests Congress meant for the CFTC to regulate gambling. He said the CFTC lacks the local oversight tribes and states already provide.
Tribal leaders also raised concerns about the CLARITY Act, a bill meant to set federal rules for crypto and digital assets. They said its decentralized finance section could create another way around gaming law.
Hill asked Congress to make sure the bill protects existing tribal and state gambling laws. Senator Ben Ray Luján warned that a DeFi exemption in the bill could create a loophole if it is not limited to spot market trading.
Senate Agriculture Committee Chair John Boozman first said crypto and prediction markets are separate issues. After Luján pointed to specific bill language, a committee staff member said new wording is already being worked on.
Committee Chair Lisa Murkowski said tribal gaming brought in a record $46.2 billion in fiscal 2025. Macarro gave an early estimate that prediction markets may have cut California tribal gaming revenue by about 5 percent.
Harry Levant of the Public Health Advocacy Institute said financial terms can hide gambling risks. He said six people in his recovery group returned to gambling through prediction markets in the past three months.
Tribal leaders asked Congress to pass the Prediction Markets Are Gambling Act, which would stop CFTC regulated platforms from listing sports contracts. They also want formal talks with tribes before the CFTC finishes its rules.
No one from the CFTC or the prediction market industry attended the roundtable to respond to these claims.
