{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.curtis.senate.gov/press-releases/curtis-raises-concerns-about-prediction-markets-gambling", "Curtis Raises Concerns About Prediction Markets, Gambling", "2026-05-20", "2026", "2026-05", "Republican", "Senate", "UT", "John R. Curtis", "C001114", "www.curtis.senate.gov", "curtis", "https://www.curtis.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases", "scraper", "Senator Curtis also highlighted the Prediction Markets Are Gambling Act, bipartisan legislation he introduced that is aimed at preventing federally regulated exchanges from offering sports betting and casino-style contracts under the jurisdiction of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Read more about the legislation here.\n\nThe full transcript of the exchange is below, and video can be found here.\n\nSenator Curtis: Mr. McHenry, I\u2019m conflicted whether I call you Chairman, Congressman, Speaker. But I will tell you, it is a delight to see you again and I really enjoyed serving with you. If I\u2019m honest, even a couple of months ago, I would not have been able to tell you what a prediction market was. Just in one sentence, to the man and woman back in Utah, what is a prediction market?\n\nThe Honorable Patrick McHenry: It is an open exchange. It is under commodities regulation, called a \u201cswap.\u201d You have folks that have a contract. Some say \u201cyes,\u201d some say \u201cno,\u201d and they determine it. The marketplace, the consumers, and the participants determine what is the ratio on the contract, the likelihood of something happening.\n\nCurtis: What\u2019s exactly happening when an event contract is purchased?\n\nMcHenry: The easiest thing for me to explain is in the political setting. The political setting, \u2018is John, Jane, or Joe going to win the election?\u2019 And after the election, the contract is certified based off of information on whether or not that happened and then people are paid out based off the ratio of that final contract.\n\nCurtis: Okay. If I were hearing that back in Utah, I would say, \u201cI think something might happen. I\u2019m going to put money down on it, and I have the chance of either making more money or losing money on that.\u201d Is that accurate?\n\nMcHenry: Yes. And it\u2019s an uncertain outcome, just like whether or not you\u2019re going to have a crop that comes in this fall or not, based off of weather, unpredictable events along the way.\n\nCurtis: So, if I\u2019m talking to these folks back home in the town hall meeting, they\u2019re going to say to me, \u201cTell me how that is not gambling,\u201d right? It seems to meet every definition of gambling.\n\nMcHenry: Well, I understand how that is viewed. When grain futures came to fruition over 100 years ago, it was viewed much the same. This is an uncertain outcome on whether or not your crop will come in in the fall, and you can hedge against it in the marketplace about an uncertain event that is driven largely by acts of God, Mother Nature, and crop yields.\n\nCurtis: So, can I interrupt you, only because of time? I know what you\u2019re saying is important, but as you know, we have very limited time. My father was an insurance agent and taught me that you buy insurance for things you can\u2019t afford to pay for. And it feels like we\u2019ve moved from the farmer who\u2019s buying crop insurance because he can\u2019t afford it\u2014he\u2019ll be wiped out, right?\u2014versus betting for an income or perhaps loss on that. And I guess my fundamental question is, like, how is that any different than a sports wager or betting?\n\nMcHenry: Well, it\u2019s based off the business model. The business models are fundamentally different from a sportsbook. The sportsbook, the house sets the line, and when the consumer loses, they profit. And for an exchange like this, the exchange is based off of two individuals that benefit, and they pay a fee, just a flat fee, for that engagement. The business models are very different.\n\nCurtis: Dr. Levant, you have not had much chance to weigh in. I\u2019d love you to weigh in on the Speaker\u2019s thoughts.\n\nDr. Harry Levant: It\u2019s difficult to know where to start, but let me take the most recent comment. Poker and horse racing have the exact same business model. No one would dispute they\u2019re gambling. Sports futures contracts are gambling. The business model is just to take the money off the top. The house has to win every time, and the public loses. That\u2019s contracts.\n\nThe other part I want to address is the avalanche of unregulated advertising on social media. I\u2019ve, over the last year, spoken in six prep schools in four different states. This is not exactly a scientific survey, but I ask the students in each of these schools at the start, \u201cHow many of you know what Kalshi is?\u201d Ninety-five percent of the hands go up. I ask, \u201cWhat is a same-game parlay?\u201d Ninety-five percent of the hands go up in the room, and it\u2019s all from social media.\n\nCurtis: So, Congressman McHenry, let\u2019s just put that aside for a minute. Just overall, why do we regulate gambling?\n\nMcHenry: Because society has determined that this is not in\u2014well, elected officials have determined it\u2019s not in society\u2019s interest, and therefore put weights and measures around it and protections.\n\nCurtis: Great. And Dr. Levant, we know you\u2019re going to agree, so I\u2019m not\u2014\n\nLevant: It\u2019s a known addictive product, just like heroin. That\u2019s why we regulate it.", 1, "2026-05-22T06:27:39Z", "2026-05-22T06:29:18Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.curtis.senate.gov/press-releases/curtis-raises-concerns-about-prediction-markets-gambling"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.9451389778405428, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}