AGA President Claims CFTC Should Not Be in Charge of Gambling, Prediction Markets
The AGA President argues the CFTC overstepping its authority by attempting to regulate gambling and prediction markets, asserting states should retain control.Summary
Bill Miller, President and CEO of the American Gaming Association (AGA), has publicly criticized the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and Michael Selig for seeking to regulate sports betting, gambling, and prediction markets at the federal level. Miller contends that, based on principles of federalism and decades of legal precedent, the authority to regulate these activities rightfully belongs to individual states and sovereign tribal nations. He argues the Dodd-Frank Act wasn't intended to create a federal gambling agency and that the CFTC’s actions represent a potential overreach of power.
Miller specifically objects to the CFTC’s increasingly positive view of prediction markets, advocating for their regulation under the same state and tribal rules as traditional gambling. The AGA is actively opposing what it perceives as loopholes allowing nationwide sports wagering through the CFTC, bypassing state-licensed systems. Miller claims prediction market platforms are offering unauthorized sports betting disguised as “event contracts,” costing states an estimated $480 million in tax revenue.
State attorneys general and tribal authorities are already taking legal action, exemplified by Nevada’s lawsuit against Kalshi. While the courts will ultimately decide the definition of a “sports event contract,” a new bill proposed by Rep. Dina Titus could potentially lead to a congressional ban on these products.
(Source：Gamblingnews)