Not only did Mr. Quintenz fail to adequately answer the questions on sports-based event contracts by Committee members, but Tribal Nations are concerned that he also provided lackluster answers when questioned about these potential conflicts of interest stemming from his former position on Kalshi’s board. He did the same when asked about his ability to push back on pressures from other Kalshi board members and advisors, including the President’s son, Donald Trump Jr. Since the hearing, even more questions have been raised about the legality of these contracts. In a case pending before the Federal Third Circuit Court of Appeals, 34 state Attorneys General plus those from the District of Columbia and the Northern Marina Islands, signed a brief arguing that the CEA does not preempt their state authority to regulate gaming. Moreover, this bipartisan, regionally diverse group of signatories corresponds with 14 home states of members of this Committee including the Chair and Ranking Member. Several of these States have existing State- Tribal gaming compacts that provide for strict regulatory oversight of sports bets, something severely lacking under the CFTC’s approach. The lack of action by the CFTC means prediction platforms will continue to offer these sports contracts without the important regulatory guardrails provided by state and tribal regulated sports betting. Instead of using his confirmation hearing to provide clarity on this issue, Mr. Quintenz implied that if he is confirmed the CFTC will continue to do nothing to address gaming contracts. Since the enactment of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act in 1988, Tribal and State Governments have operated successfully under the Act’s mandated structures for gaming on our Reservations. The CFTC’s approach to allow what are essentially “gambling” contracts parading as commodities should be deeply troubling to this Committee. Our Tribal Governments have informed the CTS that unregulated gambling within the purview of CFTC is an existential threat to the regulated gambling industry that Tribes have spent the better part of 40 years expanding and growing responsibly. Therefore, we urge the Committee not to advance Mr. Quintenz’s nomination until he has committed to initiate a CFTC review of these contracts if he is confirmed. We appreciate the Committee’s attention to this important matter to Indian Country.
Sincerely,
CC: Members of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry
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