IGA announces national efforts against CFTC-backed prediction markets

The Indian Gaming Association has announced a coordinated national effort with tribes, state officials, members of Congress, and the American Gaming Association to challenge prediction markets discussed at the 29th Annual Western Indian Gaming Conference.

The conference, hosted by the California Nations Indian Gaming Association at Pechanga Resort Casino, centered on concerns that actions by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission under the current federal administration allow prediction markets to operate outside established tribal, state, and federal gaming law.

IGA Chairman David Z. Bean said tribal governments are preparing coordinated legal, legislative, and regulatory action.

"Illegal prediction markets are exactly what they sound like: illegal, unregulated online sports betting that operates outside federal and state law," said Chairman Bean. "Actions by the CFTC under this administration are enabling an unlawful end-run around tribal governments, state regulators, and Congress itself. This is not innovation. This is illegal gambling, and it represents a direct attack on tribal sovereignty and the rule of law."

Bean said IGA and its member tribes are working with state governments, attorneys general, members of Congress, and national gaming organizations to address what they describe as unlawful gaming activity conducted through prediction markets.

"We are building a unified national coalition to confront this threat," Bean said. "Tribes, states, and our industry partners are standing together to defend lawful gaming and protect our sovereign rights. We will use every legal, legislative, and regulatory tool available until these illegal prediction markets are stopped."

The issue was examined in a three-part conference series titled “Betting Without Permission: The Existential Threat of Prediction Markets on California Tribal Gaming,” which addressed legal, regulatory, and sovereignty implications tied to prediction markets.

Victor Rocha, conference chairman for the Indian Gaming Association, opened the series with remarks regarding federal authorization of gambling activity without tribal consent, state authorization, or congressional approval. He stated that tribal gaming operates within a negotiated legal framework grounded in federal law, tribal-state compacts, and voter approval.

"The CFTC is being used as a vehicle to authorize nationwide gambling without tribal consent, without state authorization, and without congressional approval," Rocha said. "This is federal overreach at its most dangerous. Tribal gaming exists because of negotiated agreements, federal law, and voter approval. Prediction markets attempt to erase that structure through unilateral federal action. Indian Country will not accept that."

A second session, “Defining the Threat: When Gambling Is Recast as a Financial Product,” was moderated by IGA Executive Director Jason Giles. Speakers included Joseph Webster of Hobbs Strauss and Michael Hoenig, vice president and associate general counsel for gaming at Yuhaaviatam of the San Manuel Nation. 

Panelists discussed how prediction markets characterize sports wagering as financial trading, allowing platforms to operate outside tribal and state authority and outside established consumer protection systems.

"These illegal prediction markets are a deliberate attempt to circumvent tribal sovereignty and federal law," said Giles. "By allowing these platforms to operate, federal regulators are undermining decades of federal Indian policy and enabling unlawful gaming activity nationwide. Tribal nations will not stand by while sovereign authority is ignored and lawful gaming is threatened."

The final session, “The Case for Unified Action: How Tribes Fight Back,” featured Bean and National Congress of American Indians President Mark Macarro. The discussion addressed coordination across Indian Country and engagement with government and industry partners.

Conference speakers stated that prediction markets have grown into a multibillion-dollar unregulated sector operating outside established gaming law.

Tribal gaming generated $43.9 billion in revenue through 2024, supporting government services, health care, education, infrastructure, and economic development for tribal nations.

IGA said it is coordinating with tribes, the National Congress of American Indians, states, and gaming partners to seek enforcement of existing law and federal accountability.

"The alarm has been sounded across Indian Country," Giles said. "This is a defining moment. Tribal nations are unified, mobilized, and prepared to defend our sovereignty and protect the integrity of lawful gaming."

The association said that it will continue leading national efforts focused on tribal sovereignty, federal law, and the regulatory structure governing tribal gaming.