Administration officials are mocking the American Gaming Association (AGA) for enlisting former Gov. Chris Christie (R-NJ), a staunch Trump critic and twice-failed presidential candidate, as a strategic adviser.
The AGA, which is the main trade group for the commercial and tribal gaming industries, is against sports-related contracts on prediction markets. Christie’s focus is not on prediction markets broadly, but specifically on sports-related contracts.
Trump administration officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, tell Breitbart News the AGA has made a major mistake in partnering with the never-Trumper.
“I cannot think of a worse bet for the casino industry to make than hiring Chris Christie, a guy who is strongly disliked in the White House and around the administration. Was Karine Jean-Pierre not available?” one Trump administration official said.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) regulates prediction markets like Kalshi and Polymarket. Prediction markets are facing lawsuits contending that they violate state gambling laws. In a press release detailing its amicus brief filed on February 17, the CFTC laid out its “exclusive jurisdiction over all commodity derivatives markets, including prediction markets,” adding that courts and Congress have affirmed its “role in regulating these markets.”
CFTC Chair Michael Selig said in the release that the lawsuits are an effort “to limit Americans’ access to event contracts and undermine the CFTC’s sole regulatory jurisdiction over prediction markets.”
“Event contracts allow businesses and individuals to hedge event-driven risks, enable investors to manage portfolio exposure, and provide the public with information about the outcome of future events,” he said.
“These products are commodity derivatives and squarely within the CFTC’s regulatory remit. As I’ve said before, the CFTC has the expertise and responsibility to defend its exclusive jurisdiction over commodity derivatives, and that’s exactly what we’ll do,” he added.
In a statement to Politico published the next day, Christie claimed that CFTC and Selig show “absolutely no respect or regard for states’ rights.”
Politico added:
“A bet is not an investment,” Christie said in an interview. “He calls them derivatives. The derivatives market is something where someone can bet on how many strikeouts Gerrit Cole will have for the Yankees on Opening Day? I mean, come on. It’s ridiculous. It’s a bet, and they should comply with the law.”
One senior Trump administration official tells Breitbart News Christie’s track record of losing political battles bodes poorly for the gaming industry.
“Chris Christie has been on the losing side of every political battle he’s fought since bridgegate. He’s one of the most despised figures among Trump staffers, Trump himself hates him, and he hasn’t done anything relevant in a decade,” the senior official said. “The gaming industry is in a precarious position right now and this is an unforced error.”
Yet another official in the administration made a mockery of Christie’s role.
“Someone should inform Chris Christie that ‘gaming’ doesn’t include the McDonald’s Monopoly sweepstakes,” the third official said. “The only ‘game’ he’s familiar with is Hungry Hungry Hippos, from which he derives real life inspiration.”
“Hiring Chris Christie to influence the Trump administration is somehow, laughably, less effective than dieting has been for said former governor,” the official added.
One former Trump administration official told Breitbart News that AGA bringing Christie aboard makes as much sense as the former governor’s doomed presidential bids in 2016 and 2024.
“While the Trump Administration embraces innovation, the AGA is deciding to use Chris Christie to attack the President’s nominee and policies on prediction markets,” the former official said. “It makes as much sense as Christie’s presidential runs.”
The AGA did not respond to Breitbart News’s request for comment at the time of publication.
Late last year, the AGA saw defections in membership from major platforms like FanDuel, DraftKings, and Fanatics, which have endeavored to establish their own prediction markets.
Christie’s ties to the casino and gambling industry include his role as the lead plaintiff in the legal fight to overturn the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA).
“After years in court, the U.S. Supreme Court in May 2018 ultimately sided with New Jersey in that PASPA violated anti-commandeering interpretations of the Tenth Amendment,” Casino.org noted. “The landmark ruling led to 40 states and Washington, DC, passing sports betting laws.”
That, of course, came after Christie’s Revel casino debacle in Atlantic City in the 2010s.
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