As states and gaming operators continue to wage legal battles against prediction market operators, one industry figure has proposed a change of tack: denying prediction market players access to popular payment platforms.
The call came from Light & Wonder Head of Government Affairs and Legislative Counsel Howard Glaser, speaking at the recent National Council of Legislators from Gaming States, SBC Americas reported.
“You cannot run a prediction market if you can’t process the payments,” Glaser said. “If you can’t touch prediction market operators, get at the supporting ecosystem.”
Most legal experts, both in the US and abroad, believe that the Supreme Court or Congress will eventually have to intervene to break a bitter prediction market regulation impasse.
The impasse has pitted federal agencies and operators like Kalshi on one side, and states, tribes, and sportsbooks on the other.
Prediction Markets: Glaser Calls Payments Gateways ‘Free Field’
Addressing a number of top state regulators, Glaser said: “This is a free field for you. And I really believe it is the strongest possible action you could take while you wait for the Supreme Court.”
And the Light & Wonder executive said those hoping for a quick and decisive Supreme Court intervention could be disappointed.
“We would be deluded to sit on our hands and wait for the Supreme Court,” Glaser told attendees. “The barbarians would not be at the gate: They would be over the gate.”
On his Substack page, the gambling industry analyst Steve Ruddock wrote that Glaser’s comments were “exactly the playbook some suggested (and some states deployed) to counter sweepstakes and offshore gambling sites.”
Ruddock added that, in 2024, legal experts highlighted a range of potential dangers for payment processors dealing with online sweepstakes casinos.
Providers, he added, are “notoriously prudent when it comes to their exposure to gambling.”
Payment processors are the “weakest link” in the chain in the predictions market ecosystem, Ruddock concluded.
No Chance of a Compromise, Lawyers Say
Experts have told CasinoBeats this month that they think a compromise between the warring parties is unlikely.
Observers also believe the Commodity Futures Trading Commission may have key legal advantages over the states if the Supreme Court ultimately has to pick a side.
However, industry insiders say sportsbook operators may instead look to develop their own, rival prediction market platforms in a bid to take the battle out of the legal arena and into the business sphere.
