BetMGM has continued its campaign against prediction market platforms, this time warning that regulated gambling operators can’t compete on a fair footing with the emerging sector.
Speaking at SBC Summit Canada, the operator’s Director of Responsible Gambling, Richard Taylor, told attendees that stakeholders must ‘get them out of our markets’.
He said: “I love to compete, but I love to do that when we’re all playing by the same set of rules. Right now, there’s an environment where there are these prediction market operators who won’t even admit what they’re offering is gambling, even though it’s gambling.
“They don’t have to follow the rules that I have to follow, they’re not putting in place the programmes that I’m putting in place, and they’re not complying with any violations or restrictions.
“If we want to create a truly safe ecosystem and an environment where business can be sustainable and where people can be taken care of, we’ve got to get our arms around how we go after these bad actors in a real, meaningful way through enforcement.”
Unlike gambling operators, which comply with state regulations, platforms such as Polymarket and Kalshi are regulated on a federal level through the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
In many ways, BetMGM is an outlier in the North American sports betting market due to its stance on prediction markets.
FanDuel, DraftKings and Fanatics have all launched their own platforms, citing the move as an opportunity to capture market share in states where they aren’t present through online sports betting.
Taylor’s words echo the sentiments of BetMGM’s Chief Executive Officer, Adam Greenblatt, who has been forthright in his opinion that prediction markets are illegally offering sports betting in markets where the vertical is not currently regulated.
Meeting people where they are
Elaine McDougall, Senior Vice President of Strategy and Programs at the Responsible Gambling Council, described prediction markets as the ‘big elephant in the room’ as the panellists examined how the industry can most effectively educate children and young people on responsible gambling.
She noted that younger generations are the first in history to grow up with a screen at their fingertips, so they’re more likely to be exposed to social media and gaming platforms from a very young age.
“When we think about prevention education, it starts as soon as they start school,” said McDougall.
“We might not be teaching them about odds and smart play strategies in elementary school, but we need to be teaching them about financial literacy, we need to be teaching them about risk and understanding risk.”
Looking at older age groups, Dr Michael Naraine, Associate Professor at Brock University, lamented the ‘incredibly embarrassing’ efforts made by responsible gambling advocates to connect with college-aged students in North America.
He emphasised that ‘you have to reach this generation where they are living’, whether that be on university campuses or at the sports games that they attend.
Naraine explained: “My students are setting their bets in the classroom. I’ll ask who’s setting their bets tonight, and people will throw their hands up. That’s where those face-to-face connections can happen.
“When we talk about sports leagues, when we talk about the other stakeholders, we have to connect with them at those venues.”
