WASHINGTON, D.C. – Leadership of 17 organizations representing tribal nations across the U.S. met with the Honorable Michael S. Selig, Chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), for a private roundtable discussion regarding prediction markets and event contracts. The roundtable discussion was moderated by Oklahoma Indian Gaming Association (OIGA) Chairman Matthew L. Morgan.
Topics discussed included recent CFTC rulemakings on prediction markets; tribal concerns around sports, political, and any other type of event contracts; tribal concerns around prediction market advertising nationally and on tribal land; and policy ideas to improve agricultural markets and agricultural risk management tools.
“As moderator of this meeting, I left substantive discussion to the tribal organization leaders and the other participants,” said Morgan. “But the Oklahoma Indian Gaming Association – which I serve as Chairman – nonetheless has plain and strong views on today’s subject. When finalized, we expect the CFTC’s current rule making will result in additional litigation, and in that context, I have to be clear about OIGA’s position on these matters. Nothing I said should be taken as inconsistent with or otherwise altering OIGA’s fundamental position on these matters.”
Morgan continued, “We view the CFTC’s actions as undermining the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, as allowing illegal Class III gaming to infringe upon the sovereignty of tribal nations, and as undermining revenue streams that are critical to tribal government programs and services. It is OIGA’s position, as recently laid out in our comments on the proposed prediction markets rule, that the CFTC’s approach is arbitrary, capricious, and not in accord with law.”
The inter-tribal entities were clear and consistent that the CFTC has a duty to meaningfully consult with Tribal Nations. The roundtable in no way supersedes or replaces the government-to-government consultation that must take place directly with sovereign Tribal Nations that have been or may be impacted by CFTC regulatory actions.
The discussion reflected the desire of the participating inter-tribal organizations to collaborate with Chairman Selig and CFTC staff regarding regulatory actions related to prediction markets and event contracts. While the organizations collectively represent the majority of Tribal Nations in the United States and welcomed the opportunity to meet with the CFTC, they are not themselves sovereign Tribal Nations. The roundtable was not a substitute for government-to-government consultation and should not be interpreted as such.
The inter-tribal organizations maintained that the CFTC cannot treat sports-event prediction contracts as ordinary financial products when they function as wagering, directly affecting Indian gaming, and potentially eroding the compact-based framework Congress established through IGRA.
