Massachusetts Gaming Commission Refers Prediction Market Disputes to CFTC

The Massachusetts Gaming Commission has received dozens of inquiries from state residents seeking help with prediction market disputes, only to redirect them to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission — the federal agency with jurisdiction over the platforms involved.

The pattern matters because it surfaces in real time what regulators have argued in courtrooms across several states: that prediction markets, operating under federal oversight as event contracts, sit outside the reach of state gambling agencies even when those agencies are the first place consumers turn.

Jordan Maynard, chairman of the MGC, testified this week before the House Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Development that prediction markets are "sports wagers by another name" and that they avoid state taxes, regulatory requirements, and problem gaming obligations that licensed sportsbooks must meet. He made those remarks in the context of a broader hearing on sports betting among college students — a hearing prompted by MGC data showing that 34% of college students who use sportsbook apps are under 21.