Nevada and Louisiana Regulators Call for Action on Prediction Markets

The chair of the Nevada Gaming Control Board, joined by his counterpart from Louisiana, has urged the gaming industry to take a stronger stand against the rapid rise of sports event prediction markets, warning that they are bypassing established state regulatory systems.

“We Have to Look It in the Eye”

Speaking at the International Conference on Gambling and Risk Taking at the Bellagio in Las Vegas, Mike Dreitzer delivered a powerful message to industry leaders amid intensifying debate over platforms that let users trade on sports outcomes while operating outside traditional gambling frameworks.

“As an industry, we have to stand for things,” Dreitzer said. “We have to have standards. That’s not regulatory capture and overregulation. 

When this wholesale creation comes about, where all of a sudden we have an end run that allows for sports betting in 50 states, we have to stand up to it. We have to look it in the eye and say this is sports betting. It’s wrong for you to do that.”

Dreitzer went on to emphasize that Nevada regulators are not against innovation but insisted that new products still need to go through standard systems aimed at protecting consumers. 

He noted that prediction markets operating under federal commodities rules have effectively sidestepped state-level gambling regulation, prompting enforcement actions, including cease and desist orders.

“We Have to Protect Them” 

Dreitzer argued that the existing regulatory framework exists to ensure integrity, prevent underage access, and reduce risks tied to problem gambling and financial crime.

“The standards we have are there for a reason,” Dreitzer said. “They’re not consumer unfriendly, but they’re there to protect people.”

His counterpart in Louisiana, Christopher Hebert, echoed those concerns during a joint discussion, saying he fully supported Nevada’s position and describing the issue as one of public protection and fairness.

“We have to protect them,” Hebert said, calling it a “fundamental fairness issue.”

Both regulators warned that the industry is drawing near a turning point amid the expansion of prediction-style products across the United States, arguing that the lack of porper action, oversight gaps could get even wider, causing safeguard issues around cybersecurity, responsible gambling, and age verification.