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About Golden Catch
“At what point does someone come along where you say no to the offer?” Carton asked.
A Bank of America study released on 1 September found that the median deposit account balance of households that participated in online betting was 59% higher than households that avoided the activity. As prediction markets rapidly expand alongside traditional sports betting, the findings have prompted “some to blur the lines between entertainment and investment”, according to a proprietary study undertaken by BofA.
The ongoing battle between states’ rights advocates and those who support federal regulations in sports trading is not black and white. Carton indicated in his monologue that engaging in the trading of sports-event contracts amounts to unregulated gambling. Designated Contracts Markets, better known as prediction markets, are regulated on the federal level by the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
How to play Golden Catch
State Senator Bob Hall represents Senate District 2 in Texas, a district that contains parts of Dallas. Hall, 84, did not see a distinction between event contracts and sports wagers, noting that the former is just dressed up in a different manner.
“They’re different costumes on gambling,” he said. “Some have high heels and a tiara and others have on miniskirts or a bikini.”
Asked by Hall on how Texas should proceed moving forward, York advised that the state should seek an order that would require prediction markets to geofence their platforms from operating statewide. York also prefers the pursuit of litigation against prediction markets in state court, rather than the federal circuit, where state attorney generals have been less successful.
How to play Golden Catch
The timing is significant. The illegal gambling market is attracting growing attention from regulators and the wider industry, while estimates of its size vary considerably depending on definitions and methodology.
A recent Fincord Intelligence report highlighted by the Betting and Gaming Council estimated that illegal online gambling generated around $50 billion in gross revenue globally in 2025. It estimated that around 5,000 operator structures were using more than 15,000 websites and apps.
Other estimates are considerably higher, illustrating how difficult the market is to measure. As an example, separate research from Gaming Compliance International put the value of unregulated online gambling at $5.9 trillion in wagering value in 2025, while estimating that unregulated operators accounted for 78% of global online gaming GGR.
