Overview:
The Indian Gaming Association says the legislation could allow prediction-market operators to expand sports betting and casino-style gambling under federal commodities law while bypassing Tribal and state gaming regulations.
The Indian Gaming Association is calling on the U.S. Senate to reject the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, known as the CLARITY Act, unless Congress adds explicit protections for Tribal sovereignty, the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act and Tribal and state authority over gaming.
For months, the Indian Gaming Association and its partner organizations have met with members of the Senate urging Congress to amend the legislation to prohibit sports betting and casino-style gambling through prediction markets and affirm that nothing in the bill preempts Tribal, state or federal gaming laws, including the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.
The CLARITY Act is intended to establish a regulatory framework for the cryptocurrency industry and clarify the jurisdiction of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
The Indian Gaming Association has repeatedly warned that, without clear gaming protections, the legislation could allow prediction-market operators to expand sports and casino-style gambling under federal commodities law while bypassing Tribal and state gaming laws.
Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) recently released updated legislative language following concerns raised by several industries and organizations, including the gaming industry, credit unions and decentralized finance interests.
While the revisions acknowledge some of the concerns raised by the gaming industry, the Indian Gaming Association maintains that the legislation still fails to adequately protect Tribal sovereignty and Tribal government gaming.
Indian Gaming Association Chairman David Z. Bean said Indian Country’s position remains clear.
“We want to make it absolutely clear that Indian Country is opposed to this version of the CLARITY Act,” Chairman Bean said. “While we appreciate that Senator Lummis has acknowledged the legitimate concerns raised by Tribal Nations, the proposed changes do not address the fundamental concerns of Indian Country.”
Bean said the revised legislation fails to address what the Association considers the central threat posed by prediction markets offering sports betting and casino-style gambling outside established Tribal and state regulatory systems.
“The bill does nothing to rein in the CFTC at a time when prediction market platforms are already offering gambling products that threaten Tribal and state gaming laws,” Bean said. “Instead, the CLARITY Act would expand CFTC authority without providing the clear protections Congress must put in place for Tribal sovereignty, state sovereignty, and the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.”
The Indian Gaming Association has urged Congress to include language expressly stating that federal commodities law does not preempt Tribal or state gaming laws or IGRA. The Association also wants the bill to prohibit designated contract markets from listing event contracts involving sports betting or casino games.
Without those protections, Bean said the legislation represents a serious long-term threat to Indian Country.
“Until Congress expressly provides that Tribal and state gaming laws and the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act are not preempted, and that federally regulated prediction markets cannot offer sports betting or casino games, Indian Country will continue to oppose the CLARITY Act,” Bean said. “Its enactment without these protections would represent one of the greatest threats to Tribal sovereignty in a generation.”
The Association is calling on its member Tribes and Tribal leaders across the country to contact their U.S. senators and urge them to vote no on cloture and oppose passage of the CLARITY Act in its current form.
The Association emphasized that the issue extends beyond gaming revenues.
Tribal government gaming is a critical economic engine for Tribal Nations, supporting essential governmental services, infrastructure, education, health care, public safety, housing and economic development in Tribal communities.
The Association argues that prediction markets offering sports betting and casino-style gambling outside the framework established by Congress through IGRA threaten the regulatory balance among Tribal, state and federal governments and undermine decades of federal Indian gaming policy.
“This is about much more than one piece of legislation or one industry,” Bean said. “This is about whether the federal government will respect the sovereign authority of Tribal Nations and the laws Congress itself established to govern Indian gaming. Tribal Nations cannot stand by while federal regulatory policy creates a back door for nationwide gambling that ignores Tribal sovereignty.”
The Indian Gaming Association said collective advocacy by Tribal Nations and partner organizations is gaining momentum in state legislatures, federal courts, Congress and among the public.
The Association is urging Tribal governments to continue making their voices heard as the Senate considers the legislation.
“Indian Country must speak with one voice,” Bean said. “We are asking the Senate to protect Tribal sovereignty, protect Tribal government economies, stop the expansion of illegal prediction market gambling, and vote no on the CLARITY Act unless Indian Country’s concerns are fully addressed.”
