Nevada Gaming Control Board chair Mike Dreitzer used a regulatory conference in Lima to argue that prediction markets offering sports event contracts threaten the licensed gaming industry. His keynote at IAGR 2026 focused on products available in jurisdictions where conventional sports betting remains restricted.
Dreitzer rejected the view that resistance from gaming regulators is simply hostility toward new technology. He said the central issue is whether sports-linked contracts avoid requirements that apply to licensed betting operators, including consumer safeguards and state oversight, according to SBC Noticias.
The Nevada regulator also raised concerns about access for users aged 18 to 20, who may be old enough to trade event contracts but too young to use regulated sportsbooks in many US jurisdictions. His remarks represent Nevada's regulatory position in an active federal-state dispute rather than a final legal determination covering every prediction-market product.
The International Association of Gaming Regulators held its annual conference in Lima from October 19 to 22, with prediction markets, event contracts and regulatory arbitrage among the program's central topics. The agenda reflects the widening debate over whether sports contracts should be supervised as derivatives, gambling products or both.
