Digital Wager Wire highlights the most significant events affecting the domestic and international sports betting and gaming industries each week throughout the year.
New CFTC Chair Says Old Rules Are Outdated
The newly-appointed chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Michael Selig, has vowed to rewrite the rulebook. The old CFTC guidelines were predicated on an agricultural paradigm in which traders bought contracts on minerals and livestock like gold, silver, and pork bellies, to name but a few.
However, cryptocurrency and emerging markets like sports event trading contracts were never factored into the equation, leaving ambiguity as to how these new frontiers comport with contemporary trading.
The latter has been a hot-button topic between prediction platforms, currently offering sports event contracts in all 50 states, and state gaming regulators who demand that they must be licensed within that state and pay taxes, as stipulated for mobile sportsbooks. This has led to a blizzard of cease-and-desist letters from state regulatory agencies issued to the prediction platforms, as well as litigation at the state and federal levels.
Selig Defers Sports Event Contracts To The Courts
During his confirmation hearings, he was asked how he would handle the issue, but Selig said he would defer to the courts to issue a ruling. Therefore, it was expected that the CFTC under his helmsmanship would continue to take a hands-off approach and not intervene either for or against those prediction platforms that are currently offering the sports event trading contracts.
Nevertheless, Selig did touch on the cryptocurrency and blockchain issues that have yet to be resolved in an opinion piece he recently authored for the Washington Post.
“Decades-old rules designed for pork bellies and wheat futures do not contemplate blockchain-native markets that trade 24/7,” Selig said. “The CFTC must meet innovators where they are.”
Furthermore, he called on Congress to enact legislation that would mandate guidance on these new technologies and their place in today’s financial markets. Whether he will wade into the sports event contracts being offered by the CFTC’s licensees remains unclear.
Vegas Tourism Remains Sluggish
There has been anecdotal evidence of why tourism in Las Vegas has slowed but the numbers don’t lie. According to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA), tourism in Sin City plunged 7.4% in 2025 compared to the previous year.
Many people point to the excessive spiraling costs of food, drink, and entertainment, along with the often-unexpected resort fees that have become all too common on lodging bills. Others believe it is because Las Vegas, and Nevada in general, no longer has a monopoly on casino gambling and sports betting.
Commercial and tribal casinos can be found dotting the landscape of states all across the nation, while making a sports bet is often as simple as picking up one’s mobile device. The many options now available throughout the country have muted the thrill of a Las Vegas casino.
International Travel Barriers Impact Visitor Numbers
However, the LVCVA points to the barriers of entry for foreign travelers to the USA, citing the $250 Visa Integrity Fee for residents of certain countries when they visit the States.
“Las Vegas is often a reflection of the broader U.S. economy,” LVCVA wrote to The Center Square. “Because we operate at high volume across every consumer segment, shifts in spending and behavior tend to surface here first.”
Yet, despite the 7.4% tourism decline, which saw 35.4 million tourists visiting the nation’s gambling capital in the first 11 months of 2025, optimism abounds. Casino operators are looking ahead to 2026, noting global sporting events coming to Las Vegas like WrestleMania 42, the 2026 World Cup, and the Las Vegas Grand Prix.
