G2E Session: “The Power of Unity: Confronting the Prediction Markets Challenge” brings a united stand for Tribal sovereignty and consumer protection as court victories strengthen the fight

LAS VEGAS — September 28, 2026 — The Indian Gaming Association (IGA) delivered an unequivocal message at Global Gaming Expo on Monday: Tribal Nations and their allies are standing united against illegal online sports gambling offered through prediction markets, and they will continue confronting the operators, commercial partners and government policies that enable it. With significant appellate court victories strengthening the legal fight, leaders called for sustained collective action to protect Tribal sovereignty, lawful gaming and the public.

The workshop, “The Power of Unity: Confronting the Prediction Markets Challenge,” brought together IGA Chairman David Z. Bean; Bill Miller, President and CEO of the American Gaming Association (AGA); James Siva, Chairman of the California Nations Indian Gaming Association (CNIGA); and Holly Cook Macarro, Tribal advocate, political strategist and Principal at The Angle. IGA Executive Director Jason Giles moderated the discussion.

“I had the honor of sitting on this panel at G2E today, alongside some incredible folks,” Chairman Bean said in post-event comments, describing illegal online sports betting through prediction markets as an existential threat to gaming and to Tribal and state sovereignty.

The panel’s title expressed the strategy taking shape across Indian Country and the broader gaming industry. Tribal Nations, commercial gaming leaders, state officials, and other allies are aligning legal arguments, legislative advocacy, and public education to challenge sports wagering platforms that claim federal commodities oversight lets them bypass gaming laws. IGA’s position is firm: calling a wager an event contract does not excuse illegal gambling or erase the authority of sovereign governments.

“Our responsibility is to protect tribal sovereignty first and foremost,” said Chairman Bean. “We come together to face all challenges that come our way.”

Chairman Bean shared the coalition’s journey from January 2025, when much of the public had not heard about prediction markets, to the momentum it has built today in fighting illegal online sports betting. He described growing cooperation among Tribal leaders, regional gaming associations, and AGA, emphasizing the work Tribal Nations have done in Washington to make their concerns heard on both sides of the aisle.

“We visited both sides of the aisle. We made sure to let them know why we were there,” Chairman Bean said. “We were there to protect tribal sovereignty.”

He urged Tribal Nations to translate that shared purpose into continued participation in the legal fight, including coordinated amicus briefs that bring Tribal perspectives before the courts.

“We have a lot more work to do,” Chairman Bean said. “We’re encouraging tribes to sign on to the Amicus Briefs. So if you haven’t already signed on, please sign on.”

Panelists described a coalition strengthened by a common responsibility to defend lawful gaming and the communities it serves. Longstanding differences among participants have given way to coordinated opposition to unauthorized sports wagering and efforts to displace Tribal and state regulatory authority.

“We’re always, we’ve always been at our strongest when we fight together,” said Cook Macarro, reflecting on Indian Country’s history of collective advocacy and the breadth of the coalition now confronting prediction markets.

For Tribal Nations, the stakes extend to exercising governmental authority and the economic foundations of their communities. Chairman Bean emphasized that Indian gaming is governmental gaming. Siva stressed that Tribal operators have built their enterprises around regulated gaming, community benefit and responsibility to their patrons.

“We always have been about providing a safe, regulated gaming environment for all of our consumers,” Siva said.

Siva said the fight reflects a responsibility to the generations of Tribal leaders who secured and defended gaming rights. In California, he explained, the mission remains protecting the gaming exclusivity Tribes fought to establish and the progress their communities have achieved.

“What we have built up is too important for us to let money swing the momentum, to let money be the deciding factor,” Siva said.

Chairman Bean emphasized that the discussion connected victories in the courts with legislative battles and the coalition’s ongoing work. The panel highlighted important appellate decisions rejecting central arguments advanced by Kalshi and affirming the continued force of Tribal and state gaming protections.

On September 16, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reversed the denial of preliminary relief on the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act claim brought by Blue Lake Rancheria and Chicken Ranch Rancheria of Me-Wuk Indians. The court concluded that the Tribes were likely to succeed in showing that Kalshi’s sports event contracts on their lands violated IGRA and their gaming ordinances. It treated the challenged contracts as Class III gaming and returned the case to the district court to address the remaining preliminary-injunction factors.

IGA commends Blue Lake Rancheria and Chicken Ranch Rancheria of Me-Wuk Indians for bringing this challenge and continuing the fight after an adverse district court ruling. Their leadership, alongside the work of Tribal attorneys and supporting organizations, has advanced the defense of Tribal authority against unauthorized gaming on Indian lands.

The Tribal ruling followed the Ninth Circuit’s August 28 decision in KalshiEX, LLC v. Assad, which upheld the dissolution of preliminary protection against Nevada’s enforcement of its sports gaming laws. On September 25, the Sixth Circuit delivered another significant setback to Kalshi in cases involving Ohio and Tennessee. That court rejected Kalshi’s claim that federal commodities law displaced the states’ gambling laws, affirmed the denial of an injunction in Ohio and vacated the injunction issued in Tennessee.

These decisions are substantial victories in continuing litigation. They strengthen the coalition’s position while underscoring the need to sustain legal advocacy as the cases proceed.

“And you need to hold the line. We need to hold the line here,” Giles told the audience.

IGA’s opposition extends to efforts to normalize, promote, or facilitate the sports wagering activities it has consistently challenged as illegal. Advertising agreements, distribution arrangements, political influence and proposed partnerships cannot substitute for compliance with applicable gaming laws. Businesses and public officials supporting these activities should expect continued scrutiny and opposition from IGA and its allies.

Panelists criticized the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s approach to sports event contracts and warned against federal actions that would weaken Tribal and state authority. They also raised concerns about prediction market companies’ efforts to recruit Tribal partners, including proposed arrangements involving waivers of sovereign immunity.

Chairman Bean challenged the disconnect between the concerns Tribal leaders have presented to the CFTC and the agency’s approach to facilitating participation in prediction markets.

“It reflects nothing close to what tribes have shared with the CFTC,” Chairman Bean said.

IGA maintains that a commercial partnership cannot resolve the underlying legal objections or justify undermining protections that Tribal Nations have spent generations defending. Tribal governments must be able to exercise their authority without pressure to surrender it in exchange for platform access.

Miller expressed confidence in the coalition’s growing momentum and the effect of mounting legal challenges on the prediction market industry.

“Their house of cards is falling apart,” Miller said.

Chairman Bean said he hoped the audience left with a clear understanding of IGA’s position that presenting sports bets as “swaps” does not make unauthorized gambling lawful. His post-event message also underscored that a prediction market company’s size or financial success cannot justify disregarding sovereign authority, engaging in unfair competition or exposing consumers to harmful products.

Prediction markets “will never be too big or financially successful to ignore State and Tribal sovereignty, engage in unfair competition, or present products that are harmful to underage and adult consumers,” Chairman Bean said.

That message reinforced the panel’s concerns about young people’s access to online wagering and the consequences of allowing gambling products to operate outside the gaming safeguards the coalition is defending. IGA’s position is that protecting Tribal communities, underage and adult consumers, and the integrity of lawful gaming requires enforcement, accountability, and respect for the governments empowered to regulate gambling.

Chairman Bean recognized the late Chairman Ernest L. Stevens, Jr.’s role in building the relationship between IGA and AGA and ensuring Indian Country’s voice was heard within the broader gaming industry. The partnership continues through a shared commitment to address threats facing their respective members.

Chairman Bean grounded the continuing fight in Indian Country’s responsibility “to take care of our children, to take care of our communities, and to honor those who got us here.” He emphasized that honoring earlier generations requires continued action to defend the sovereignty they fought to protect.

“We keep the main thing the main thing,” Chairman Bean said. “We have to continue showing up on the hill.”

IGA calls on Tribal Nations and allied organizations to remain engaged in litigation, support coordinated amicus efforts, and press lawmakers and regulators to uphold Tribal sovereignty and applicable gaming laws. The coalition must also remain prepared to challenge legislative and regulatory efforts that would undercut progress achieved in court. The message from “The Power of Unity: Confronting the Prediction Markets Challenge” was unmistakable: IGA and its allies will stand firm, defend the protections already won, and continue working together to stop illegal online gambling. The court victories reinforce that resolve. The work continues until the communities, consumers and sovereign rights at stake are protected.