WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Indian Gaming Association (IGA) launched its 2026 Summer Legislative Summit at the Association’s Washington, D.C., headquarters, convening tribal leaders from across Indian Country for two days of strategic advocacy on Capitol Hill to protect tribal sovereignty and preserve the future of tribal government gaming.
Throughout July 14 and 15, tribal leaders, IGA leadership, and advocates will meet with U.S. Senators and congressional staff to urge immediate action to address the growing threat posed by prediction market gambling and to support amendments to the CLARITY Act that protect the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA), tribal sovereignty, and state gaming authority.
The annual Summer Legislative Summit comes as Indian Country is engaged in a coordinated, nationwide effort to stop online sports betting and casino-style gambling that the Commodity Futures Trading Commission has allowed to proliferate across the country. However, Indian Country’s integrated advocacy with commercial gaming, consumer protection organizations, unions, and state governments continues to gain significant momentum in Congress, state governments, and the courts.
The Association is urging senators to amend the CLARITY Act by including language that prohibits all forms of sports and casino-style gambling through prediction markets and affirms that nothing in the legislation preempts tribal, state, or federal gaming laws, including the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. Without these protections, the legislation could unintentionally allow cryptocurrency-based prediction markets to expand online gambling nationwide outside the longstanding regulatory framework established for tribal governments, states, and licensed gaming operators.
“Indian Country is united because this is one of the greatest threats tribal government gaming has faced in a generation,” said IGA Chairman David Z. Bean. “By relying on the fiction that sports bets are ‘swaps,’ the prediction markets undermine tribal sovereignty, violate the government-to-government agreements tribes have built with their states, and threaten the revenues our tribal nations depend on to fund healthcare, education, housing, public safety, language preservation, and essential government services.”
Bean emphasized that the summit is designed to build on months of advocacy that have steadily increased awareness across Capitol Hill.
“We are reinforcing more than a year of education with Congress,” said Bean. “Some senators support our position, some remain undecided, and others simply need more information. Our responsibility is to continue showing Congress that prediction markets are not simply financial products. They are gambling that directly threatens tribal governments and the future of Indian gaming. We will continue delivering that message until Congress acts.”
Bean also praised the growing participation of tribal leaders from across the country.
“There is no substitute for tribal leaders telling their own stories,” said Bean. “Lawmakers need to hear directly from the elected leaders whose communities depend on tribal gaming to provide essential government services. Our strength has always come from Indian Country speaking with one voice.”
During the summit’s opening session, Jason Giles, IGA Executive Director, briefed attendees on recent litigation, congressional developments, and the increasing bipartisan concern surrounding prediction markets.
“The momentum is real,” said Giles. “We’re seeing encouraging developments in the courts, increased attention from senators, and growing concern from states and industries beyond Indian Country that are beginning to recognize the serious consequences of unregulated prediction market gambling in our society. Our work now is making sure Congress understands that this is not simply a gaming issue. It is an issue of tribal sovereignty, consumer protection, and preserving the integrity of federal and state gaming regulation.”
Giles noted that recent legal developments and growing public awareness have strengthened Indian Country’s position.
“Every conversation we have on Capitol Hill moves this issue forward,” said Giles. “Our greatest advocates are tribal leaders themselves. When senators hear directly from the governments and communities affected, they understand this is about protecting governmental revenues that support real people and real services.”
The Association also highlighted its continued partnership with the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) and tribal organizations nationwide through the IGA-NCAI Task Force, which has worked to educate tribal governments and coordinate advocacy efforts surrounding prediction markets and federal legislation. Chairman Bean encouraged every tribe, gaming and non-gaming alike, to remain actively engaged as Congress considers legislation affecting tribal sovereignty.
In addition to legislative meetings, participants received advocacy materials, policy briefings, and coordinated messaging to ensure every congressional office hears a consistent message: prediction market gambling represents an existential threat to tribal sovereignty and tribal government economies.
“As we walk the halls of Congress this week,” Bean concluded, “we carry the voices of every tribal nation that depends upon gaming to strengthen its people, protect its sovereignty, and build a better future. We will continue fighting until Congress closes this dangerous loophole and protects Indian Country for generations to come.”
