MGM Resorts International CEO and President Bill Hornbuckle has been definitive in his stance on prediction markets in the past, and he doubled down on Thursday.
Speaking in front of the Nevada Gaming Commission (NGC) at a hearing on Thursday, Hornbuckle said that prediction markets on sports are “without a doubt sports betting.” He also praised the Nevada regulators for taking a firm stance on the issue.
“I do want to thank the board for its clarity around predictive markets and predictive gaming,” Hornbuckle said. “The clarity helps us. Obviously, we have some work to do in some other states and you’ve probably all followed that story closely.
“It’s fascinating. It is without a doubt sports betting, full stop. And so we’re going to do everything we can to keep an eye on activity cases and ultimately see what we can do to make sure it comes in line with proper regulation and proper tax, etc.”
Nevada proactive against predictions
The NGCB was one of the first state regulators to tackle prediction markets, sending Kalshi a cease-and-desist order back in March and becoming embroiled in court battles with Kalshi and Crypto.com. It scored court victories against both operators when the pair were denied temporary injunctions, and Crypto.com ceased offering sports in the state in October pending an appeal.
Nevada was also one of the first states to tell gaming licensees that they should avoid entering the prediction markets space, threatening that it could jeopardize operators’ standing in the Silver State. The NCGB warned Flutter about its plans for a FanDuel predictions product as early as August and sent a stern letter to licensees in mid-October to clarify that it considered even prediction market activity outside of Nevada to be a trangression.
After announcing this month that their respective prediction market platforms would offer sports, FanDuel and DraftKings responded to the NGCB by giving up any present or future claims to licenses in Nevada.
Hornbuckle fundamentally opposed
Hornbuckle’s stance on sports contracts should already be clear enough, given the various comments he has made in recent months.
“MGM Resorts’ view is it invites the federal government into a space it’s never been, and it’s not a place we’d like to see this marketplace go, full stop,” he declared at September’s Bank of America Gaming, Lodging & Leisure Conference. “We have to contend with it and understand it, we’ve got to be ready for it if it becomes even realer. But officially, it is not something we endorse.”
He echoed those comments at the Global Gaming Expo in October, telling attendees that embracing prediction markets and sports event contracts under the oversight of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission would take sports wagering above state-level regulation, which he said was “something this industry has historically and categorically defended against.”
“When we have gaming regulators telling us ‘don’t do that,’ we have no choice but to take a position,” he added at G2E.
Speaking to SBC Americas around the same time, BetMGM Chief Revenue Officer Matt Prevost said that the joint venture online gaming company is “in lockstep” with Hornbuckle on the issue.
List of sports operators entering space grows
However, at G2E, Hornbuckle did acknowledge that MGM would “absolutely” look to be a fast follower if prediction markets were to break through. The sports prediction market space is not raking in billions just yet, but it is gaining traction when it comes to adoption and mainstream integrations.
Since his G2E comments, several online-focused gaming brands with no Vegas roots have taken firm steps towards offering sports contracts. As well as FanDuel and DraftKings ramping up, PrizePicks is now live with sports predictions in 15 states via a deal with Kalshi. On Thursday, Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin announced Fanatics Predicts is coming too.
