WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Indian Gaming Association (IGA) hosted a Congressional briefing at the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs meeting room on Capitol Hill to confront what tribal leaders described as the most significant threat to Indian gaming since the passage of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA).
Opening the briefing, Chairman Bean delivered remarks outlining the urgency of the moment. “Sports event contracts being offered through prediction markets are the biggest threat to Indian gaming since IGRA was introduced to restrict Indian Gaming,” said Chairman Bean. “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.”
The briefing brought together the IGA/NCAI Task Force, National Congress of American Indians President Mark Macarro, his NCAI team members and tribal leadership, state and national gaming associations, and consumer protection experts to address the rapid proliferation of sports event contracts under the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
The message shared with members of Congress was clear: These sports event contracts are being listed on futures and derivatives markets originally designed to help farmers manage crop risk. Tribal leaders and industry representatives made clear that these markets were never intended to function as nationwide sportsbooks.
“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,” Chairman Bean stated.
Panelists explained that, unlike tribal and state-regulated sportsbooks:
- There is no geofencing, allowing these platforms to bypass a tribe’s sovereign authority to determine who does business on its lands.
- There are no meaningful consumer protections, leaving customers without guarantees that their wagers are secure.
- There are no uniform age-verification requirements, often relying on self-reported information.
- There is no revenue sharing with states or tribes, stripping potentially millions of dollars from public budgets.
Tribal leaders cited a recent controversy following the Super Bowl, in which the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) was flooded with complaints about disputed wagers involving arbitrary outcome determinations. These incidents underscore the absence of regulatory clarity and consumer safeguards that are standard in tribal gaming operations.
The tribal leader panel, moderated by IGA Executive Director Jason Giles, featured Chief Kirk Francis of the Penobscot Nation and Councilwoman Hermenia Frias of the Pascua Yaqui Tribe. They emphasized that gaming revenues fund healthcare, housing, education, and public safety services in their communities.
“Prediction markets provide no benefit to tribal communities,” said Chairman Bean. “They extract value without consent, without compacting, and without accountability.”
The gaming association panel included Chairman Bean, Phil Brodeen of the Minnesota Indian Gaming Association, Rebecca George of the Washington Indian Gaming Association, and Alex Costello of the American Gaming Association. The panel presented a unified front across the tribal and commercial gaming sectors
“The entire gaming industry, commercial and tribal, is united,” said Chairman Bean. “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 raised serious concerns during Hill meetings about the CFTC’s current posture. The agency has publicly stated that it does not believe these sports event contracts are illegal under the Commodities Exchange Act (CEA). Additionally, recent comments by CFTC Chair Michael Selig suggest a more direct agency role in ongoing legal battles surrounding prediction markets.
Chairman Bean warned that administrative action cannot replace Congressional authority. “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.”
IGA and its partners are urging senators to include clarifying language in pending crypto marketplace legislation to affirm that the CEA does not authorize sports wagering through derivatives markets.
As part of this advocacy effort, members of Congress were asked to sign on to a bipartisan letter to the CFTC addressing Chair Selig’s recent statements and calling for stronger oversight.
Chairman Bean closed the briefing with a clear message: “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.”
The Indian Gaming Association confirmed it will continue working with tribal governments, gaming associations, and members of Congress to ensure that federal law is enforced and tribal rights are protected.
