Digital Wager Wire highlights the most significant events affecting the domestic and international sports betting and gaming industries each week throughout the year.
CFTC Chairman Announces Revamped Agency Guidelines
The newly installed chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Michael Selig, has taken a proactive stance to overhaul antiquated rules that do not address today’s economy and technological breakthroughs.
Selig announced recently, “For too long, the CFTC’s existing framework has proven difficult to apply and has failed our market participants. That is something I intend to fix by establishing clear standards for event contracts that provide certainty to market participants.”
Prediction Markets Expand Into Politics And Sports
The prediction market platforms operate under the federal authority of the CFTC and have historically offered contracts in which traders can speculate on the future prices of commodities such as gold, silver, and a litany of others.
However, during the presidential election of 2024, the prediction platforms expanded to include political races and then pivoted to offering contracts on the Super Bowl in 2025. That’s when the trouble began with state gaming agencies that claimed these prediction markets were acting as unlicensed bookmakers and were not paying taxes on their revenues to the states in which they operated.
CFTC Maintains Hands-Off Approach
The CFTC has taken a hands-off approach to the matter, and Selig stated during his confirmation hearings that he would prefer to let the courts decide whether prediction platforms can offer sports event contracts.
And although his recent announcement mentioned event contracts, it did not specifically refer to sports event contracts, which leaves the matter unclear as to whether Selig will pursue backing his licensees against the state governments or prohibiting them from doing so.
The latter is unlikely, as the Trump administration has been friendly toward prediction markets, and Donald Trump Jr. has joined industry leader Kalshi as a strategic advisor. Many believe Selig will continue his agency’s laissez-faire approach regarding the trading of sports event contracts and focus specifically on cryptocurrency and blockchain technology.
“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.”
Boyd Gaming’s Las Vegas Valley Casino Opening Earlier Than Expected
Building a casino worth hundreds of millions of dollars typically incurs construction delays and cost overruns. However, Boyd Gaming’s newest casino project, Cadence Crossing in East Henderson, Nevada, is not only on schedule, but it will also open its doors to the public approximately three to four months earlier than expected.
Boyd Gaming President and CEO Keith Smith said the company plans to open Cadence Crossing in late March, adding, “With significant land still available at Cadence Crossing for future development, we will have the opportunity to expand this property to meet growing demand.”
This is Boyd’s first new casino project in more than 20 years, and Cadence Crossing will span approximately 50,000 square feet with a 10,000-square-foot casino housed within it. The company has plenty of extra land, which will allow it to expand its footprint as the area around it grows.
“The adjacent community of Cadence is growing rapidly, with more than 1,200 new homes sold in 2025 alone. This is the third-best sales performance of any master-planned community in the country. With strong residential growth continuing throughout the neighborhood, we believe Cadence Crossing casino will be well-positioned to deliver a strong return for our investment,” added Smith.
