Nationwide Unregulated Gambling

The rapid growth of event contracts has introduced unregulated gambling nationwide. This rapidly growing industry threatens tribal nations’ and states’ sovereignty, governance and economic stability while exposing consumers to significant risks.

What Are Event Contracts?

Online companies, also known as “prediction markets”, are offering event contracts, allowing people to wager on the outcome of real-world events. These apps are accessible anywhere in all 50 states, including Washington.

Instead of calling themselves gambling, these companies relabel wagers as “financial derivatives” and list them on federally regulated commodities exchanges under the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA).

Why This Matters

Event contracts are dangerous for consumers, communities and the people we love. They avoid state and tribal gaming laws, effectively enabling online gambling nationwide without Congressional authorization.

1. Consumers are unprotected

    • Event contracts offer none of the same safeguards that legal gaming systems incorporate to address the social risks associated with gambling.
    • These apps are accessible to anyone with a smartphone, which creates real risks for young adults and, if protections fail, even minors.
    • Anyone can bet on anything, creating serious insider trading, manipulation and other risks.

2. Money leaves our communities

    • Tribal governments fund essential services across Washington. Tribal gaming helps make this possible. Every dollar bet on unregulated prediction markets is a dollar pulled away from tribal communities and local jobs, with profits flowing directly to out-of-state or offshore companies.
    • If left unchecked, prediction markets could undermine tribes’ incredible economic impact in the state: more than 52,000 jobs, $7.4 billion added to the state economy and $1.9 billion paid to employees in wages and benefits.

3. Washingtonians didn’t choose this

    • Tribal gaming is carefully regulated and limited in Washington. In fact, we have some of the nation’s strictest anti-gambling laws, criminalizing the knowing transmission and reception of gambling information via the Internet.
    • Another way we have carefully limited gaming is by limiting sports betting to tribal properties.
    • Our state has been deliberate about expanding gambling to protect vulnerable populations and ensure proceeds benefit people and communities in Washington.
    • Gambling via prediction markets bypasses these safeguards and will hurt our state.

Do we really want unregulated gambling anywhere, for anyone, at any time?

4. Sovereignty and laws matter

    • Prediction markets directly interfere with tribal and state governments’ sovereign right to regulate gaming within their territories.
    • They also specifically violate provisions of Tribal-State gaming compacts.

Join Us

Washington tribes have worked with the state to build safe and effective regulated gaming system that benefits our people and all of Washington. We won’t stand by while tech companies exploit legal loopholes to undermine that progress.

We need your help. Join forces with WIGA and protect what we’ve built together.

Email info@washingtontribes.org to learn more.