With wildfires raging throughout many portions of the West, lawmakers are seeking to rein in prediction market apps because some allow wagering on the outcomes of wildfires.
U.S. senators raised concerns that prediction market apps could be a motive for arson. In a letter to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which regulates the apps, they said, in part, “Offering bets on destructive wildfires threatens to minimize communities’ suffering.”
Andrea Dassopoulos, a research analyst with the International Gaming Institute in Las Vegas, has co-authored studies about gambling and behavior. She says betting on disasters is dehumanizing.
“When things are ‘gamified,’ it does sort of disconnect you from the reality that other people may be experiencing this in a profound, real way. It makes it almost not real,” said Dassopoulos. “As gambling becomes increasingly more and more normalized and widespread, then that’s just how we’re experiencing all major events now, is through the lens of gambling.”
The senators who signed the letter asked the commodities commission if it believes that prediction market app wagers about wildfires are in the public interest. They pointed to questions on apps that you can bet on like:
• How long would a wildfire last?
• How much would a wildfire destroy?
• How much would a wildfire grow by?
Senators in western states include:
-Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) and Jackie Rosen (D-NV)
-Alex Padilla (D-CA) and Adam Schiff (D-CA)
-Martin Heinrich (D-NM)
-Ron Wyden (D-OR)
Republican Rep. Blake Moore of Utah in March introduced the Event Contract Enforcement Act to prevent betting on war, terrorism and other such events.
The POINTS ACT is the first dedicated measure providing Federal Funding for Gambling Addiction, lawmakers pointed to a increase in problem gambling related to prediction market apps.
This story was produced by the Mountain West News Bureau, a collaboration between Wyoming Public Media, Nevada Public Radio, Boise State Public Radio in Idaho, KUNR in Nevada, KUNC in Northern Colorado, KANW in New Mexico, Colorado Public Radio, KJZZ in Arizona and NPR, with additional support from affiliate newsrooms across the region. Funding for the Mountain West News Bureau is provided in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and Eric and Wendy Schmidt.
