tell us how you really feel
BY THE NUMBERS publIc comment submIssIons regardIng predIctIon marKets
trIbes / trIbal groups: 13
KnowIng when to fold’ em
aJanuary study from Dr. Sally Gainsbury and colleagues from the
University of Sydney titled“ Understanding Electronic Gaming Machine Players” surveyed 204 individuals who had played poker machines( pokies) in the previous 30 days at a“ large EGM venue in Western Sydney.” The study sought to gain insight into playing habits and attitudes toward responsible gaming tools.
Included in the study was a question with 201 respondents regarding the practice of sticking to budgets when playing. According to the graph, 28 percent of respondents say they“ sometimes” keep budgets, the highest of any group. The next highest was 24 percent for the“ almost always” category. Notably, the categories for“ never” sticking to budgets and“ never setting budgets at all” were identical, with each garnering 8 percent of respondents.
In addition, a follow-up question was asked regarding how satisfied respondents were with their gambling activities. Authors noted 69 percent of respondents who indicated that they were“ very satisfied” with their gambling also reported“ always” or“ almost always” sticking to budgets. Meanwhile, 38 percent of those who were“ dissatisfied” with their gambling said they“ rarely” or“ never” stick to budgets.
frequency of respondents per frequency of KeepIng to the budget
IndIvIdual companIes: 5
non-trIbal polIcy / lobbyIng groups: 3
IndIvIduals: 3
tell us how you really feel
on February 5, the Commodities Futures Trading Commission
( CFTC) announced its intention to host a roundtable discussion on the advent of prediction markets, the controversial futures exchanges through which investors— or bettors— can purchase contracts tied to the outcome of certain events. Last fall, it began with election contracts, but over the winter the markets began offering sports contracts, thus eliciting strong opposition from the regulated gaming industry.
The CFTC opened a public comment period for submissions and has since made those submissions public. As of writing, there have been 24 total submissions that have been released. The vast majority( 13) came from gaming tribes or tribal groups, and these were spread throughout the U. S. All tribal submissions touched on similar arguments, those being infringements on both tribal sovereignty and exclusivity for gaming.
There were very few industry representatives that submitted comments, other than the American Gaming Association( AGA) and Geo- Comply. The AGA was neutral on prediction markets when they offered election betting but has since come out against them, now that they have entered into sports contracts.
The only responsible gaming-related group to submit was the Campaign for Fairer Gambling, but its submission actually argued in favor of the markets, saying that the concerns that apply to regulated sports betting and iGaming wouldn’ t be applicable to this new type of asset exchange.
From a business perspective, there’ s a chance that bookmakers and suppliers could be assessing potential opportunities within the sector— after all, the markets are federally legal and there’ s nothing preventing them from also entering the space if their legality is cemented.
6 Global Gaming Business APRIL 2025