In case you haven’t been following: The traditional commercial casino industry and the nascent prediction market sector are in a bitter fight. Two factions of what could be described as gambling capital are warring with each other.
It can be interesting at times, but if you care about preventing gambling-related harm, the war is often tedious to observe. People, families, and communities are harmed by numerous gambling products, though you could make valid arguments that some are more predatory than others and consumer protection can be greatly improved.
Last year, Maryland’s casino gambling and sports betting regulator sent a letter to the federal government opposing prediction markets. States such as Maryland have argued that prediction-market-style sports markets are unlicensed gambling.
According to a new report from Spotlight Maryland, the letter the Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Agency sent to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission was provided by the American Gaming Association. Maryland used the AGA’s draft letter “word-for-word,” according to a Spotlight Maryland reporter.
According to The Baltimore Sun:
“The records raise questions about the independence of the Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Agency, which is responsible for regulating the state’s gambling industry but relied on language written by the industry’s chief lobbying organization before sending an official policy position to federal regulators.”
This makes the traditional casino industry look bad. If you follow the industry closely, you might barely lift an eyebrow here. What some call “regulatory capture” is an understatement.
As the current political landscape stands, many states are simply business partners in the gambling sector. This doesn’t take away from the hard and incredible work that many people do with the tools they do have in consumer protection and addiction treatment and prevention at the state level.
Unsurprisingly, prediction market proponents tried to spin the AGA/Maryland letter to the CFTC as evidence of their capitalist virtue. Brian Quintenz, a former CFTC commissioner, posted on X: “Smells like corruption to me. But then again, it’s the casino industry.” His strong language reminds of Polymarket’s CEO calling traditional sportsbooks “scams.”
Meanwhile, critics of prediction markets have said those platforms are thriving due to unlawful activity related to so-called sports event contracts. The legal saga has been kind to some investors.
Sean Patrick Maloney, president and CEO of the Coalition for Prediction Markets and a former Democratic congressman from New York, said some nonsense to The Baltimore Sun that is barely worth repeating. Essentially, he took the Maryland scandal as a PR win for his cause.
You might be wondering why I even wrote this post if I think this is all tedious. If you are, that’s a good question. I’ve been covering this industry for 20 years, and inter-gambling-sector conflict doesn’t excite me journalistically the way it used to. I wrote it because the bigger issue is gambling-related harm, not the spectacle.
Some advocates make the strong case that internal conflict within the vast gambling/gaming industry can create opportunities for real reform.
I guess it’s also entertaining when the traditional casino industry has an egg on its face for a moment. You have to appreciate the little things in life.