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Tribal Leaders Push to Block Sports Betting on Prediction Markets

Quick Glance at the Facts

• The Senate Indian Affairs Committee held a roundtable on August 4, 2026, to discuss prediction markets and tribal gaming.
• Indian Gaming Association Vice Chairman Tehassi Hill asked lawmakers to amend the Clarity Act to block sports and casino gambling on prediction market platforms.
• Senate Agriculture Committee Chair John Boozman opposes adding prediction market language to the Clarity Act or Farm Bill.

Tribal gaming leaders and U.S. senators want to add restrictions on prediction markets to the Clarity Act, a cryptocurrency bill moving through Congress. If the amendment passes, players betting on sports through platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket could lose access to those contracts in states where gaming laws apply.

What Happened at the Senate Roundtable

The Senate Committee on Indian Affairs met on August 4, 2026, for a roundtable titled “Tracking Prediction Markets’ Exponential Growth: Tribal Implications and Beyond.” Senate Indian Affairs Committee Chair Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Vice Chair Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) led the session, according to Holland & Knight.

Indian Gaming Association Vice Chairman Tehassi Hill, chairman of the Oneida Nation, asked Congress to do two things, according to InGame.

First, prohibit prediction markets from offering sports and casino-style contracts.

Second, clarify that the Clarity Act does not override the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act or existing tribal-state gaming agreements, The Block reported. Hill also urged Congress to pass the Prediction Markets Are Gambling Act (S. 4160), a bill that would amend the Commodity Exchange Act to ban event contracts on sports betting and casino-style games and that now sits in the Senate Agriculture Committee with no hearing date.

Sen. Tina Smith (D-Minn.) told the committee that the Clarity Act or the Farm Bill could both work as vehicles for the amendment. She said prediction markets should follow existing law and called that goal “fairly simple and non-controversial.”

Why the Amendment Faces Resistance

The CFTC Chair Michael Selig has argued the agency holds “exclusive jurisdiction” over prediction markets and has sued several states that tried to regulate the platforms separately. The Trump administration has backed Selig’s position, calling CFTC oversight of prediction markets “critically important.”

Senate Agriculture Committee Chair John Boozman (R-Ark.), who guided the Clarity Act through his committee, said he does not support adding prediction market provisions, Yogonet reported. “Crypto is not prediction markets,” Boozman told the roundtable, “so I think you’ve got to build your case.”

The Senate is scheduled to leave for its August recess at the end of this week, per the same Yogonet report. Attention will then shift to the November elections, leaving a narrow window for the Clarity Act to advance.

How This Could Affect Prediction Market Users

Players using Kalshi or Polymarket to “trade” on sports events could see their access change depending on what Congress does. If the amendment passes, these platforms would need to comply with state gaming laws, which could restrict or eliminate sports-related contracts in some states. Wisconsin, Nevada, New York, Tennessee, and Utah all have it out for Kalshi, so there would likely be swift geofencing requirements in those states if Congress moves forward with this amendment.

GamblingNerd Take

Tribal casinos see prediction markets eating into their sports betting revenue, and they want Congress to stop it. Whether you think Kalshi is gambling or not, the amendment would give states and tribes more power to block these platforms. If you use prediction markets for sports bets, now is the time to diversify. Sports bettors using traditional licensed sportsbooks or offshore sites would not be affected by these changes.