IGA Chairman to testify on prediction market risks for tribal gaming at House hearing

David Bean, Chairman of the Indian Gaming Association (IGA), will appear before the US House Committee on Agriculture’s Subcommittee on Commodity Markets, Digital Assets and Rural Development on July 21. The hearing, titled Examining Customer Protections and Market Integrity in Sports Event Prediction Markets, marks the latest step in tribal regulators’ opposition to event contract trading.

Bean is expected to outline the views of tribal governments and the IGA regarding the rise of sports-event prediction markets, which he has described as presenting “significant concerns” for tribal gaming. The testimony follows a joint letter sent on January 13 by Bean and American Gaming Association (AGA) President and CEO Bill Miller, urging federal lawmakers to crack down on unregulated offerings.

In that letter, Miller and Bean argued that such contracts are offered in disregard of state laws, Tribal sovereignty, the Commodity Exchange Act and CFTC regulations. “They mislead consumers into believing that a sports bet is an investment,” the two leaders wrote, adding that the products fail to protect vulnerable groups and open the door to money laundering, match fixing and insider trading.

The letter also highlighted the financial toll, stating that prediction markets “rob state budgets and Tribal finances” while forcing states and tribes to spend heavily on legal defenses of their sovereignty.

Meanwhile, in Arizona, where many tribes run gaming operations, Governor Katie Hobbs issued an executive order to counter potential insider trading by government employees. This came after the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) obtained a temporary restraining order in April. Although that order did not allow prediction market operators to launch in the state, it effectively softened earlier opposition and allowed Kalshi to avoid litigation.