PENN Entertainment CEO Jay Snowden has said the controversy surrounding the emergence of prediction markets in the US is destined for the US Supreme Court.
Speaking during PENN’s earnings call for its Q4 2025 results, today, 26 February, Snowden claimed it was “obvious to anyone who’s ever been in the gambling industry” that the product offered by prediction markets platforms is a form of gambling.
He added the emergence of the vertical has put businesses with major land-based operations, such as PENN, Caesars, and MGM Resorts International, in an “awkward position,” and that the operator won’t risk any of its licences to participate in the trend.
Snowden said: “It’s really clear as mud today in terms of where this is going from a legal perspective.
“You’ve got regulators and attorneys general that are suing prediction markets. You have the prediction markets that are suing regulators and trying to beat them to the punch.
“It’s obvious to anybody who’s ever been in the gambling business, and even those who aren’t, sports betting is gambling. I don’t know how you can defend it’s not. I know regulators have taken that view.
“It really puts the PENNs of this world in a very awkward position. We have our land-based businesses that generate tremendous cash flow. We employ tens of thousands of team members across the country.
“We’re big contributors to our communities, and those gaming licences are the most valuable assets we have – we’re not going to put those at risk. When regulators say, ‘this is illegal gambling, don’t do it,’ we won’t do it.
“There are those that are able to do it and are doing it in other states, and it’s just very confusing.”
The tension between prediction markets operators and state regulators and lawmakers has increased since the turn of the year.
Last month, a Massachusetts judge issued an injunction against Kalshi, ruling the prediction markets platform couldn’t operate in the state without a gaming licence.
The Tennessee Sports Wagering Council issued cease-and-desist orders to Kalshi, Polymarket,and Crypto.com during the same month, demanding all sports-related prediction contracts be halted and unsettled positions refunded.
Last year, Connecticut issued similar orders to Kalshi, Robinhood, and Crypto.com, while the Nevada Gaming Control Board filed a civil enforcement lawsuit against Polymarket.
CFTC chair Michael Selig has previously vowed to defend the regulator’s “exclusive jurisdiction over commodity derivatives” in US courts.
The cases have ramped up again in recent weeks, with Kalshi pre-emptively suing the Utah governor and attorney general over their anti-prediction markets stance.
Snowden continued: “The impact in terms of what we’re seeing today on our sports betting business? We can’t really tell what the impact is.
“We all see the handle trends, but I think there’s a lot of variables that impact the handle – prediction markets certainly are one of those. How much? We don’t know today.
“This really can’t get in front of the US Supreme Court fast enough. We’re just going to keep seeing this get delayed and delayed, and the businesses get bigger and broader, and what are they doing? We don’t know the answers to some of those questions, but we’re not going to put our licences at risk.”
Major operators such as DraftKings, FanDuel, and Fanatics have all ventured into the prediction markets space since late 2025.
Snowden reiterated PENN’s plan is to maintain good relationships with state regulators, before eventually fighting back against the growth of prediction markets.
He added: “We’re going to stay very close to our regulators. For land-based casinos that aren’t able to enter prediction markets, the best defence is offense, and we’ve got to figure out how to play more offense here, and I’ve got ideas.
“I’ve shared that with some of my counterparts and we continue to discuss those ideas with our regulators, as well as lawmakers, on how we can play more offense as an industry and turn this into a win for the states, and also for operators like us.”
PENN reported online revenue of $216m for the fourth quarter of 2025, representing a 51.9% increase year on year.
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The post PENN CEO: Prediction markets issue “can’t get in front of the US Supreme Court fast enough” first appeared on EGR Intel.
Jay Snowden reiterates the operator won’t risk its licences by engaging with the growing vertical, claiming the “best defence is offense” for state regulators
The post PENN CEO: Prediction markets issue “can’t get in front of the US Supreme Court fast enough” first appeared on EGR Intel.