# American Gaming Association The **American Gaming Association (AGA)** is the U.S. casino industry's national trade group, led by president and CEO [[Bill Miller]]. It publishes the industry's revenue figures and lobbies for state and tribal control of gambling. In the prediction-market fight it is the main organized opposition to [[Kalshi]], [[Polymarket]] and the [[CFTC]], and the fight has split its own membership. ## The position - **"Backdoor sports betting."** Miller testified to the Senate Commerce Committee's consumer-protection subcommittee in May 2026 ("No Sure Bets: Protecting Sports Integrity in America") that prediction markets "function as sports betting in every meaningful sense" and that "sports betting is being repackaged as a financial product." He told senators sports were more than 90% of the volume, so "a match fixing case on prediction markets is just a matter of time." - **The tax argument.** The AGA estimated in early 2026 that prediction markets had diverted **more than $500 million** in state sports-betting taxes; by late May its tracker put the loss to states and tribes at **more than $1 billion**. Kalshi's spokesperson called it "fake math from casinos." It is the industry's own estimate; no independent audit exists. - **State and tribal sovereignty.** "Sports betting belongs under state and tribal regulation," Miller said in releasing the 2025 revenue figures. At the Global Gaming Expo on September 29, 2026, he called the platforms "a new group of well-funded bad guys who've kicked in the back door" and said "their house of cards is falling apart." MGM's CEO Bill Hornbuckle: prediction markets "are hurting the industry, full stop." ## The exodus The online sportsbooks chose the other side, or at least left: | Date | Departure | Reason given | |---|---|---| | Nov 2025 | [[DraftKings]] and [[FanDuel]] | Plans to sell CFTC event contracts; both also gave up on Nevada | | Dec 11, 2025 | [[Fanatics]] Betting & Gaming | "Difference of opinion on prediction markets"; Fanatics Markets had launched December 3 | | Mar 24, 2026 | [[bet365]] | The AGA's "focus on the retail casino industry"; bet365 has not launched event contracts | Bitcoin.com reported that after these exits **no purely online operator remains** in the AGA. That makes it, more than before, the voice of the brick-and-mortar casino companies, such as Caesars, [[MGM Resorts International]] and Wynn, whose CEOs joined Miller's attack at the 2026 Global Gaming Expo. The online books organize through the separate [[Sports Betting Alliance]] (BetMGM, bet365, DraftKings, Fanatics, FanDuel). Its president since December 2025 is Joe Maloney, the AGA's former communications chief, and it takes "no formal position" on prediction markets because three of its five members now run them. ## Why this matters for the vault The fight cuts across the usual lines. The casino industry, whose best-known political family, [[Miriam Adelson]]'s, is among the largest Republican donors, is arguing for **states' rights** and tribal sovereignty against a Trump-appointed CFTC chair and a Trump-family-advised industry. The prediction-market side, with the Trump Jr. ties and a CFTC that sued nine states on its behalf, is arguing for **federal preemption**. See [[Sports Betting]] and [[KalshiEX v. Flaherty]]. ## See also - [[Bill Miller]] · [[Sports Betting Alliance]] · [[BetMGM]] · [[Win for America]] · [[CFTC v. Arizona]] - [[Sports Betting]] · [[Prediction Markets]] · [[Coalition for Prediction Markets]] · [[KalshiEX v. Flaherty]] - [[DraftKings]] · [[FanDuel]] · [[Fanatics]] · [[bet365]] · [[Las Vegas Sands]] · [[Miriam Adelson]] - [[Prediction Markets and Gambling Sector]]