Latter-day Saint leader decries prediction markets
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Utah's campaign against prediction markets and sports betting got a big boost this weekend when a leader in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints defined the platforms as a form of gambling that's "morally wrong."
Why it matters: Church leaders are believed to have prophetic authority, so their teachings hold more sway over individual members' actions than in many other faiths.
- Shortly after the talk by D. Todd Christofferson — one of the faith's top three leaders — social media filled with mourning videos and members' vows to delete their apps.
Catch up quick: The faith has long counseled against gambling, but leaders hadn't addressed the massive surge in online proposition and sports betting in recent years — and the latter has become widely viewed as part of being a sports fan.
The intrigue: By defining the platforms as gambling, the church effectively rejected their legal argument that they aren't gambling sites, but financial exchanges.
The Coalition for Prediction Markets did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment.
Context: Since August, two court rulings have opened the door for Utah to enforce its anti-gambling rules against proposition betting platforms, rejecting Kalshi's argument that it should be subject only to federal trade regulators.
What they're saying: "For us as Latter-day Saints, overarching all other concerns is the fact that gambling is morally wrong," Christofferson said this weekend during the church's semiannual General Conference. "… The industry's entire business model is built on its customers losing money."
The latest: Gambling watchdogs are ramping up warnings against the online markets' risks, Axios' Nathan Bomey reports.