MLB Looks to Challenge Unregulated Prediction Markets

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Transcript

00:00What's MLB's problem, ultimately, with issues with integrity and the pushback against people

00:07wanting to use this type of approach toward their wagering?

00:11Yeah, yeah, the sort of the genesis of the MLB's argument and kind of everybody who's

00:18against these new prediction models we've seen pop up, these of course are the things

00:23that look like sports betting and function like sports betting, but technically do not

00:27want to be regulated as sports betting.

00:29These are the prediction markets that companies like Calshi, Crypto.com, even Robinhood, and

00:35another one we'll talk about later, have shown interest in essentially allowing people to

00:39buy into a position of whether or not a team will win something.

00:42We saw this first pop up during the Super Bowl when Calshi and Polymarket, which have

00:47become very well known for allowing basically election betting, but it's doing it in a way

00:52that where it's trading instead of actual betting.

00:55So they're not subject to the same laws.

00:57So they've popped up and you have organizations like Major League Baseball, as well as a lot

01:02of the gaming industry have weighed in ahead of this roundtable that's coming up where

01:07the Commodity Future Trading Commission is going to basically try to get all their ducks

01:12in a row and figure out how to regulate this.

01:14Is this sports betting?

01:16Is this market investing?

01:17Is it not?

01:18And what the MLB is saying right here is, you know, if you allow this kind of betting

01:23to exist that is not technically subject to the same rules and laws and regulations

01:28that our sportsbook partners are, we think it puts the game at risk.

01:32We think basically it allows this market to thrive legally where people are not, you know,

01:38adhering to the same rules and regulations.

01:41Of course, we've had a number of scandals in sports pop up throughout the legal sports

01:46betting era.

01:47You know, last year it was Shohei Otani's interpreter was involved in something sketchy

01:51and college basketball.

01:52There's been a bunch, but all this stuff gets brought to the light because we have these

01:56rules and regulations for sportsbooks.

01:58And what the MLB is coming out saying here is if we're allowing this to exist without

02:02the same rules and regulations for sportsbooks, we're really worried it can impact our game

02:06and open up the door to some bad actors.

02:08The CFTC is going to be holding the roundtable later this month, it's expected.

02:12So we'll see if we get more leagues joining in.

02:15But really interesting that a league is actually chiming in here on the future of this very

02:19controversial, recent kind of alternative to sports betting that doesn't want to be

02:23regulated the same way.