CNIGA Calls on Senate Agriculture Committee to Investigate Prediction Market Platform Polymarket, CFTC Oversight After Deceptive Marketing Report

Press Release
For Immediate Release

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

CNIGA Calls on Senate Agriculture Committee to Investigate Prediction Market Platform Polymarket, CFTC Oversight After Deceptive Marketing Report

July 7, 2026

Sacramento, CA -The California Nations Indian Gaming Association (CNIGA) today called on the Senate Agriculture Committee to investigate prediction market platform Polymarket and examine whether the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has failed to enforce federal law prohibiting event contracts tied to sports wagering and other forms of gaming.

In a letter to Chairman John Boozman and Ranking Member Amy Klobuchar, CNIGA Chairman James Siva urged the Committee to investigate the practices described in recent Wall Street Journal reporting on Polymarket's marketing of sports-event contracts, as well as the CFTC's broader oversight of prediction market platforms that appear to be repackaging sports betting as financial trading.

"Congress has a responsibility to ensure that federal regulators are enforcing the law as written," said CNIGA Chairman James Siva. "Prediction markets should not be permitted to circumvent state and tribal gaming laws by simply relabeling sports betting as financial trading. The Senate Agriculture Committee should investigate both the conduct of these platforms and whether the CFTC has fulfilled its statutory obligations to protect consumers, respect tribal sovereignty, and uphold the law."

The full text of Chairman Siva's letter to the Senate Agriculture Committee follows:

Dear Chairman Boozman and Ranking Member Klobuchar:

On behalf of the California Nations Indian Gaming Association, I urge the Committee to investigate the disturbing practices described in The Wall Street Journal's report on Polymarket's marketing of event contracts and ensure the CLARITY Act explicitly prohibits prediction market platforms from offering event contracts tied to sports wagering, casino-style gaming, or other activities regulated under state and tribal gaming laws.
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According to The Wall Street Journal, Polymarket allegedly promoted sports-event contracts through simulated or fabricated trading demonstrations, exaggerated profit claims, and undisclosed paid influencer relationships, exposing millions of consumers to deceptive marketing. These allegations expose the central sham of the prediction market industry's claim that sports wagering can simply be repackaged as financial trading to evade gaming laws. Legitimate commodity markets exist to facilitate hedging and price discovery, not to promote speculative sports wagering through gambling-style marketing.

For tribal governments, this issue extends far beyond consumer protection. Sports-event contracts threaten tribal sovereignty, undermine tribal-state compacts, and erode the framework Congress established through the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. Tribal gaming revenues fund essential governmental services, including healthcare, education, housing, infrastructure, public safety, and economic development. Those services should not be jeopardized by federally regulated platforms using commodities law to circumvent longstanding state and tribal gaming laws.

The Committee has both the authority and the responsibility to determine whether these platforms are misleading consumers and exploiting gaps in federal law. We thank you for your leadership and look forward to working with the Committee to protect consumers, preserve tribal sovereignty, and maintain the integrity of our nation's gaming regulatory framework.

Sincerely,

James Siva
Chairman
California Nations Indian Gaming Association

About CNIGA
The California Nations Indian Gaming Association is a non-profit association comprised of 58 federally recognized tribal governments dedicated to the protection of tribal sovereignty and the inherent right of tribes to have gaming on Indian lands.

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