Arizona Says Prediction Markets Don’t Play by the Rules

Arizona is aiming for prediction market platforms, joining the ranks of numerous other jurisdictions across the United States that have done the same thing. 

Suzanne Trainor, who works with the Arizona Department of Gaming, has argued that prediction markets fail to acknowledge the need for stronger responsible gaming measures, she argues.

Arizona’s Gaming Department Once Again Raises Concerns over Prediction Markets

Sportsbooks “play by the rules” and are licensed by the department, whereas prediction markets color outside those lines. “These prediction markets are not working by the same rules, the same framework as others,” Trainor says. 

Trainor argues that prediction markets could pose the same problem of gambling risks as traditional gambling platforms, but at the same time, they do not necessarily run the same level of safeguards.  

Arizona is hardly on its own in going after prediction markets, with multiple states across the country acting similarly, and attorneys general also launching complaints of their own. 

Most recently, Utah’s governor, Spencer Cox, appeared primed to sign a bill into law that would effectively outlaw prediction markets. 

Utah is one of the most conservative states when it comes to gambling, but even the most liberal jurisdictions in the United States have gone after the vertical, to name Nevada, New Jersey, and Massachusetts, among others.

At the same time, prediction markets have been flagged as an issue by tribal groups, which have cautioned against the sector and argued that it impinges on their sovereignty. 

The State Is Not Opposed to Prediction Markets in Principle 

The Commidity Futures Trading Commission has been trying to hammer out new regulations that would make it clearer what these prediction markets can and cannot offer, with sports event contracts the main issue right now.

“If someone is thinking, you know, I didn’t get my money from this app, they might call a state regulator, an office like us. And we’re actually not able to, in many cases, help them right away because we don’t have that relationship. They’re not regulated and licensed,” Trainor explained. 

Ultimately, Trainor argued that the Arizona Gaming Department was not looking to kill the prediction market sector but rather to put strong regulation in place so that consumers are protected.