- Podcast
Chris Christie on why prediction markets undermine state betting law
Former New Jersey governor Chris Christie, now working with the AGA, argues that prediction markets bypass state regulation and that the fight is heading back to the Supreme Court.
Episode from Business of Betting Podcast. Summarised by the AffHouse newsroom from the full episode. How we work →
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Prediction markets now offer sports contracts in states that regulate betting and in states that ban it. Business of Betting host Jeff Edelstein talks to Chris Christie, the former New Jersey governor, who says the American Gaming Association asked him to help on the issue. His case: the markets should simply follow state law.
In this episode
Christie says the Supreme Court let each state decide, 40 of 50 said yes, and prediction markets now refuse state regulation, taxes and consumer protections, "absolutely flagrantly violating the law" (1:14).
He says the fight will "wind up ultimately at the Supreme Court", but the court passed on the case once before, so nobody should count on it; states should sue in state court (4:48).
States that hold back stand to lose "tens of millions of dollars" each in tax revenue, he warns, and consumers have no regulator to go to: the CFTC "doesn't have one investigator" (5:12).
He says 90% of prediction-market revenue comes from sports: "follow the money" (6:57).
MLB has agreed with betting companies to stop live pitch betting, and he expects closer scrutiny of NBA live bets on free throws and minutes; any cutbacks should rest on data (9:27).
He "totally" favors limiting college prop bets, citing corruption risk, pressure and hate mail for student athletes (10:12).
Episode from the Business of Betting Podcast with Jeff Edelstein, published on YouTube.