Massachusetts Gaming Chair Warns Congress on Illegal Sports Betting

Massachusetts Gaming Commission chair tells Congress prediction markets offer illegal sports wagers

Jordan Maynard, chairman of the Massachusetts Gaming Commission, told a House subcommittee on Wednesday that prediction markets are "illegally offering sports wagering in Massachusetts" and described sports-event contracts as "sports wagers by another name" that avoid state taxes, licensing requirements, and problem-gaming obligations.

Maynard testified at a hearing on the rise of sports betting among college students, held at the Rayburn House Office Building. He told the Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Development that 71 percent of Massachusetts residents aged 18 to 25 have bet on sports, and that 34 percent of college students using sportsbook apps are under 21, the state's legal wagering age.

The Commission has blocked at least 11,000 underage account applications through mandatory age-verification requirements. Maynard said minors still access betting through proxy accounts held by older relatives or friends.

His remarks on prediction markets arrived inside a broader responsible-gambling argument, which may make them harder to dismiss as a jurisdictional turf claim. A sitting regulator telling Congress that CFTC-regulated contracts violate state law — on the record, in a federal building — adds a legislative dimension to litigation already moving through multiple courts.