WASHINGTON, D.C. – On March 4, during the full committee markup on H.R. 7567, the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026, Representative Gabe Vasquez’s (D-NM) offered an amendment to the Commodity Exchange Act, which reaffirms existing law and regulations confirming that derivative exchanges registered pursuant to the federal Commodity Exchange Act cannot offer event contracts or swaps on sporting events or casino-style games.
The Indian Gaming Association (IGA), California Nations Indian Gaming Association (CNIGA), and the Washington Indian Gaming Association (WIGA) released the following statements in support of Rep. Vasquez’s amendment to reaffirm that prediction market platforms cannot offer event contracts on sports events or casino-style gambling activities.
“Tribal nations and the Indian gaming industry are in full support of Representative Gabe Vasquez’s amendment to reaffirm that federal commodities law cannot be used to authorize unlicensed sports betting under the guise of so-called futures or derivatives contracts,” said IGA Chairman David Bean. “We thank Representative Vasquez for bringing attention to this matter and are disappointed the Committee did not even allow his amendment to be brought up for a vote. With nearly $330 billion in annual economic impact in the legal and regulated gaming industry, Indian Country speaks with one voice in urging Congress to take action and stop the continuing harms caused by unlicensed and unregulated sports gambling platforms calling themselves prediction markets.”
“For generations, the regulation of gambling, including sports betting, has been rightly reserved for state and tribal governments,” said CNIGA Chairman James Siva. “Congress and the U.S. Supreme Court have long recognized this principle. Yet today, so-called prediction markets are trying to create gaps in federal law and regulation so they can offer nationwide sports betting without licensing, oversight, or consumer protections, including in states like California where sports betting is expressly prohibited and overwhelmingly rejected by the voters. Representative Vasquez’s amendment would have reinforced state authority, defended tribal sovereignty, and protected consumers. While this effort did not advance as far as we had hoped, we remain confident that the House Agriculture Committee will soon close this backdoor in the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA). Failure to act will only embolden prediction markets to continue disregarding state and tribal law and jeopardize the integrity of the regulated gaming marketplace.”
“Sports event contracts are a reckless expansion of gambling that undermines existing law and regulation,” said Rebecca George, Executive Director, Washington Indian Gaming Association. “For more than three decades, tribal governments in Washington have partnered with state and federal authorities to build a safe and responsible system of tribal gaming. This system has lifted communities out of poverty, restored self-reliance, and contributed to the state economy – adding $7.4 billion and supporting over 52,000 jobs. WIGA stands by Representative Vasquez’s amendment, which defends tribal and state sovereignty and protects consumers from the misuse of federal commodities regulations to bypass carefully crafted gaming laws.”