The battle over prediction markets, and their place in the regulated gaming ecosystem, continued full bore in recent weeks as American Gaming Association President and CEO Bill Miller weighed in on the issue in a blitz of editorialw in the Kansas City Star and other Midwest newspapers. Miller, not surprisingly, thinks that predictions markets are a form of gambling and should be regulated under the same rules as sportsbooks.
The headline of Miller’s Kansas City Star editorial, “Prediction markets are just gambling. Kansas must regulate them that way”, speaks volumes on the gaming trade organization’s view on the matter. Miller lashes out at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and its role in the controversy saying, “By stretching its mandate to cover prediction markets that mimic gambling, the CFTC isn’t just stepping on state authority — it’s stepping away from its core obligation to rural America. Gambling laws should be made and enforced by the states that have built systems to it responsibly, not through financial loopholes within a federal agency straying from its core purpose.”
Miller also points the basic reasons why predictions markets should be regulated like gaming sites saying, “Whether it’s sports betting or casino gaming, state laws are clear: Gambling must be conducted responsibly, licensed through state or tribal compacts and monitored for integrity.”
What Miller doesn’t mention, but is certainly aware of, is that the regulatory deck may be stacked in favor of predictions markets no matter what he says. The proposed incoming chief of the CFTC, Brian Quintenz, was a board member at one of the predictions markets in the country – and is close friends with the current US President’s son. Regardless of how the deck seems to be stacked, Miller and the AGA will likely continue their efforts to reign in predictions markets.