During an opening panel at the annual National Council of Legislators from Gaming States (NCLGS) summer meeting, Mick Mulvaney, the former Chief of Staff of President Donald Trump, explained that while his son, Trump Jr., is a crucial player in the prediction markets scene, Trump Sr. isn’t prioritizing the issue of who exactly is regulating companies like Kalshi and Polymarket.
Mulvaney Says the Regulation of Prediction Markets Isn’t a Priority for Trump
Speaking with NCLGS President Shawn Fluharty, Mulvaney said that the president won’t “roll over just because Donald Jr. has a piece of the action.” Mulvaney, who is a South Carolina state legislator, is the executive director of Gambling Is Not Investing (GINI), which lobbies to prevent the offering of sports event contracts and similar products.
According to Mulvaney, it seems unlikely that Trump is unaware of the ongoing dispute between states and the federal government over who has authority to regulate sports event contracts. He highlighted the fact that Trump “consumes media the way we eat or breathe” as evidence of this.
Even so, Mulvaney argued that Donald Trump Jr.’s board roles at both Kalshi and Polymarket should not be taken as evidence that the president supports their position. Trump Jr. joined Polymarket’s board as an advisor last year, just a few months after also being appointed to Polymarket in a similar role.
What Could Be Done to Make the Issue a Priority for the President?
For several years now, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has stated that sports event contracts should be allowed and regulated by the federal government, and not by state regulators. This has resulted in various legal disputes between states and prediction market providers, and according to Mulvaney, Congress could not provide clarity. He said that the chances of the CFTC changing its mind are fairly low and predicted that the US Supreme Court will ultimately decide who has authority over sports event contracts.
Even so, Mulvaney outlined strategies for influencing the debate, including finding ways to get the issue in front of Trump, shaping the court of public opinion, and preparing for the next phase of the legal and political fight. Some of the best tools to get the issue to the President, Mulvaney said, are through print publications such as The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, and broadcast media like Fox and CNN, because Trump is well-known for consuming them regularly. When it comes to the public’s opinion, Mulvaney claimed it didn’t matter as much because if you went door to door asking about prediction markets, very few people would even know what they are.
Of course, while Mulvaney claims that the issue isn’t a top priority for Trump, the President has already made his opinion on the matter known. Recently, he said that prediction markets should be regulated by the CFTC, and even revealed plans for launching his own company called Truth Predict.