CLARITY Act faces opposition from Indian Gaming Association

The final draft of the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, known as the CLARITY Act, has been released by U.S. Senators Cynthia Lummis, John Boozman, and Tim Scott ahead of a Senate vote. The revised legislation includes over 100 changes requested by Democrats and introduces new ethics restrictions for federal officials and their spouses regarding digital asset holdings.

Despite these revisions, the Indian Gaming Association (IGA) is calling for the Senate to reject the bill. The IGA argues that the legislation fails to adequately protect Tribal sovereignty and the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. A primary concern is that the bill could expand the authority of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), potentially allowing prediction market operators to offer sports betting and casino-style gambling under federal commodities law, thereby bypassing Tribal and state gaming regulations.

The updated bill includes provisions to protect developers and miners from being classified as money transmitters and introduces conditional restrictions on stablecoin rewards to prevent deposit flight from community banks. The legislation aims to clarify the jurisdictional boundaries between the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the CFTC.