LAS VEGAS - Four CEOs stepped onstage in a ballroom at the Global Gaming Expo on Tuesday morning, one at a time, for “keynote” remarks on gambling’s future. When attendees left, they had heard four different perspectives (maybe only slightly different at times) on the disruptive arrival and growth of prediction markets and sports event contracts.
- Four different CEOs gave four takes on prediction markets on Tuesday morning at G2E.
- Those takes ranged from damning, to downplaying, to ducking.
- Litigation over the sports event contracts offered by federally regulated prediction markets is ongoing, but the business continues to grow and draw interest from industry players.
What follows below is not the entirety of what these four chief executive officers said about prediction markets, but some choice cuts selected to give you an idea of where they land.
That is because prediction markets are looming large over the legal gambling industry and G2E, a major gaming conference. And first up at G2E on Tuesday was American Gaming Association CEO Bill Miller, who leads the legal gambling lobby in the U.S.
(he meant prediction markets and sweeps) https://t.co/di5aTCKPRB
— Geoff Zochodne (@GeoffZochodne) October 7, 2025
Miller’s take on federally regulated prediction markets – which allow customers to bet on sports in all 50 states, not just those that have legalized sports betting – could be summed up as a hard “no.”
“These operators have a word to describe what it means to ignore the rules, bypass the citizens, offer no community benefits, and tell customers it's okay to lose your shirt,” Miller told the conference attendees. “They call it innovation. I call it something else. It's greedy, it's reckless, and it's irresponsible. Sports event contracts, skill games, and offshore sportsbooks, they all share one thing in common: they're undermining America's successful approach to gaming.”
The legality of sports event contracts is still being fought over in the courts, with those scraps involving prediction market operators like Kalshi and state gambling regulators.
Nevertheless, it’s safe to say Miller is not a fan of prediction markets. For one thing, those exchanges compete for business with state-regulated online sports betting in the U.S., and could very well be pulling in business from folks who travel to brick-and-mortar casinos.
Furthermore, the prediction betting business continues to bloom, and people continue to see huge potential. Case in point: The currently-offshore-but-soon-to-be-onshore Polymarket announced on Tuesday a major investment in it by the owner of the New York Stock Exchange.
These up-and-coming prediction markets (regulated in the U.S. by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission) began offering event contracts tied to sports late last year, and now allow customers to bet “yes” or “no” on whether a team will win an NFL game.
Parlay capabilities are being rolled out and improved as well, which presents another competitive threat for same-game parlay providers such as FanDuel and DraftKings.
If it looks like an SGP ...
Which brings us to the second CEO perspective that was given on Tuesday at the Venetian Expo in Las Vegas. This one comes courtesy of Peter Jackson, CEO of FanDuel-owner Flutter Entertainment.
Flutter is a bit of a different beast than your average online gambling company. One differentiating thing about it is its long history of doing business in Europe and the United Kingdom, including its operation of the Betfair Exchange, which, like a prediction market, is a peer-to-peer wagering product.
FanDuel has also formed a partnership with CME Group, “the world's leading derivatives marketplace,” albeit with sports event contracts not yet mentioned as being part of their alliance.
"There's a lot of news flow in this space in the moment. I'm sanquine about it." FanDuel parent company Flutter Entertainment CEO Peter Jackson on the ICE $2 billion investment in Polymarket
— Ryan Butler (@ButlerBets) October 7, 2025
So, Jackson’s take on prediction markets was understandably softer than that of Miller’s fire-and-brimstone speech against them.
“I think that when I look at all of the outcomes that are possible, I think we're very well-placed actually, irrespective of which path we end up following,” Jackson said. “And that's because of the capabilities that we have, it's the relationships that we form, partnerships, and the brand and distribution that we have here in the states. I'm excited about it. I can see why other people are wanting to get into the market.”
Even so, when it came to the parlay-looking feature rolled out by Kalshi, Jackson was a bit more bold. That is partly because FanDuel fancies itself the expert on this subject.
“Building same-game parlay products are not easy,” Jackson said. “There are lots of my competitors in this room or in this building today. They're spending hundreds of millions of dollars trying to catch up with us and we're powering ahead.
“Solving the positive and negative correlated pricing associated [with SGPs] is complex,” Jackson added. “And I think it's very difficult to deploy that through a prediction market.”
At some point, FanDuel and others will “get some clarity” about where regulators land on sports event contracts, the Flutter CEO said.
However, Jackson also said that “the ‘my combo’ stuff [offered by Kalshi] looks very suspiciously like sports betting.”
Everything's bigger in Texas (especially TAM)
The third CEO to speak in Venetian Ballroom F on Tuesday morning was DraftKings’ Jason Robins.
Robins, like Jackson and others, has floated his views on prediction markets before. And, in Robins’ view, the real edge for prediction markets lies in getting into states that have not legalized online sports betting, including big ones such as California and Texas.
Prediction markets can do so because they are federally regulated by the CFTC. However, in states that have legalized online sports betting, Robins says, online sportsbooks still have the advantage.
“I think that … in a state that has legal sports betting, it is apples and oranges,” Robins said on Tuesday. “I mean, the quality of the [online sportsbook] product, and what it's able to deliver for the consumer relative to the prediction markets, is so much stronger.”
Robins pointed to the U.K., where Jackson’s Betfair Exchange runs what could be called a prediction market. That product, Robins said, accounts for a “single-digit percentage” of sports betting revenue.
“That gives you a sense of where the products coexist what type of share that's going to take,” the DraftKings CEO said. “So I just don't see a world where people are going to prefer that, unless you're somebody that's maybe been limited and can't get action, but that's a different thing.”
Robins was also asked about which statement he more strongly agrees with: A) that prediction markets are another form of gambling, they should be licensed, and that everyone should be doing it, or B) prediction markets should be shut down. Robins passed on answering the question.
Thanks but no thanks
The final take on prediction markets during the CEO panel at G2E came from MGM Resorts International’s Bill Hornbuckle.
MGM operates brick-and-mortar casinos, but it co-owns BetMGM with Entain. So Hornbuckle’s perspective on prediction markets again varied from what had come before.
MGM would embrace prediction markets if, and only if, it is fully legalized, CEO Bill Hornbuckle said, but also underscored that three states have sent BetMGM and (all sportsbooks) notes they could jeopardize their license if they launch sports event contracts
— Ryan Butler (@ButlerBets) October 7, 2025
Some states, such as Michigan, have already been warning their licensees about getting into the prediction business. And, for Hornbuckle and his casinos, that is a warning they take seriously.
However, if the (somewhat already eroded) walls holding back prediction markets do come tumbling down, MGM might have to consider getting more serious about that business.
“You get a product in the marketplace that’s unregulated in the context of gaming … not taxed, is competitively a major disadvantage for us,” Hornbuckle said. “And so when we have gaming regulators in three states now telling us ‘don’t do that,’ we have no choice but to take a position. Are we following it? Would we be a fast-follower if for some reason it were to break through? Absolutely. But it does invite … the notion that the federal government will step into our space. And that is something this industry has historically and categorically said ‘thank you, but no thank you,’ to for decades.”
