To: IGA Member Tribes From: Ernie Stevens Jr., Chairman
Jason Giles, Executive Director
Date: June 13, 2025 Re: ACTION NEEDED - Senate Ag Committee Holds Hearing for CFTC Chair Nominee, Brian Quintenz On Tuesday, June 10, the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry (“Committee”) held a hearing to consider the nomination of Brian Quintenz to serve as the Chair of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”). The Indian Gaming Association (IGA) submitted the attached letter to the Committee prior to the hearing, enumerating the current concerns it has with the new and rapid growth of sports events contracts, a new avenue for sports betting to be offered on the stock market with no regulation. The senators present at the hearing were Chairman John Boozman (R-AR), Ranking Member Amy Klobuchar(D-MN), John Hoeven (R-ND), Tina Smith (D-MN), Tommy Tuberville (R- AL), Roger Marshall (R-KS), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), Cory Booker (D-NJ), James C. Justice (R-WV), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), and Raphael Warnock (D-GA). The hearing, which was announced with only a week’s notice, comes after the CFTC abruptly canceled a Tribal roundtable aimed to solicit input from Tribal leaders and Tribal gaming organizations on the alarming expansion of sports events contracts. The roundtable, originally scheduled for April 30, was canceled 24 hours prior, with no explanation issued. Of the Committee members present, Senators Adam Schiff (D-CA), Cory Booker (D-NJ), and Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), vocalized a shared concern with Tribal leaders on the lack of regulation by the CFTC to minimize the negative impacts of sports events contracts to Tribal governments. When repeatedly questioned, Mr. Quintenz did not commit to ensuring the Commission would provide much-needed regulation over this new illegal form of gaming. Instead, he affirmed his belief that the CFTC must permit the sports event contracts even though multiple Tribes and states are currently challenging the CFTC’s classification of sports event contracts in court. The full hearing can be viewed here: https://www.agriculture.senate.gov/hearings/nomination- hearing-06-10-2025. The Indian Gaming Association will continue to monitor the progress of Mr. Quintenz’s nomination and continue to urge its Member Tribes to weigh in with their members of Congress to inform them of the potential harm of this new form of illegal gaming that undermines Tribal sovereignty, minimizes the exclusivity of gaming compacts, and has a potential to cause revenue loss to Tribal governments, which ultimately negatively impacts their
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