CFTC Chairman Michael Selig’s 2/16/26 WSJ Op-Ed (“States Encroach on Prediction Markets”) is a Slap in the Face to State and Tribal Sovereignty over Gaming.

Press Release
For Immediate Release

Contact: James May
(916) 754-7540
[email protected]

CFTC Chairman Michael Selig's 2/16/26 WSJ Op-Ed ("States Encroach on Prediction Markets") is a Slap in the Face to State and Tribal Sovereignty over Gaming.

March 2, 2026

Sacramento, CA -Congress last amended the Commodity Exchange Act to prohibit contracts tied to gaming. Calling wagers on who will be the No. 1 draft pick - or on what color Gatorade a coach is drenched in - economic hedging doesn't pass the laugh test. It's sports betting, full stop, and everyone knows it. These sports bets make up over 90 percent of the volume on prediction markets; it's telling that Mr. Selig, pushing the industry's spin, never mentions them.

Mr. Selig told Congress in his November confirmation hearing he would look to the courts to determine what constitutes gambling. Now, as courts have dealt prediction markets a string of defeats in cases brought and "driven" by prediction markets against states, he is reversing that pledge and going to bat for the companies in court.

The legal standard here is already clear. In Murphy v. NCAA, the Supreme Court spelled out that states, not federal regulators, decide whether and how sports betting operates within their borders. Prediction markets are also violating the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, which grants tribes exclusive authority over sports betting on their lands. Revenues from these activities fund essential tribal services, including health care, housing, and public safety.

Mr. Selig's claim that "overzealous" states are encroaching on the CFTC's exclusive jurisdiction to regulate these markets is astounding and turns the concept of federalism on its head. States and tribes are merely defending their rights, as 41 state attorneys general from across the ideological spectrum have attested. Handing oversight of these platforms to an industry-friendly CFTC hobbles consumer protections, increases addiction risks, and zeroes out state and tribal government revenue.

Respect for tribal and state sovereignty demands enforcing current law and preventing gaming-related contracts from becoming a backdoor to unregulated sports betting nationwide.

James Siva

Chairman, California Nations Indian Gaming Association (CNIGA)

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