The American Gaming Affiliation issued a stark warning about sports activities prediction markets to federal lawmakers this week, labeling them as backdoor betting operations that pose a direct risk to the established regulated gaming trade. Testifying earlier than a U.S. Senate commerce subcommittee, AGA President and Chief Government Officer Invoice Miller argued that these markets are successfully working as nationwide sports activities betting platforms.
Miller said that these platforms bypass the in depth regulatory methods established by states and tribal governments following the repeal of the Skilled and Newbie Sports activities Safety Act in 2018. In the course of the listening to, titled No Positive Bets: Defending Sports activities Integrity in America, Miller instructed senators that prediction markets are repackaging sports activities betting as monetary merchandise. He famous that customers are risking cash on the outcomes of sporting occasions and particular person participant performances, which makes the exercise indistinguishable from conventional sports activities playing.
The AGA highlighted Kalshi as a main instance of this fast enlargement below the oversight of the Commodity Futures Buying and selling Fee. In response to testimony, sports-related exercise on Kalshi grew from simply 227,000 {dollars} in quantity in 2024 to representing roughly 86 p.c of its enterprise at present, producing greater than 47 billion {dollars} in buying and selling quantity this yr alone. Miller argued that this development undermines the rights of states and tribes to control playing inside their borders. At the moment, 39 states and Washington, D.C., have legalized sports activities betting by way of frameworks that embrace strict licensing, client protections, and integrity monitoring.
The playing commerce group additionally raised client safety considerations relating to these markets, notably minimal age necessities. Whereas most authorized sportsbooks require patrons to be 21 years outdated, prediction markets usually allow participation by 18-year-olds. Moreover, Miller warned that the markets are aggressively advertising their merchandise utilizing language that blurs the road between investing and playing.
The AGA testimony concluded with a name for Congress to bolster state authority over sports activities wagering and to help the Prediction Markets Are Playing Act, a invoice launched earlier this yr by Senators Adam Schiff and John Curtis. Miller emphasised that sports activities betting should stay inside clear, accountable state and tribal methods quite than unregulated markets.
Source link
