Henry Williams Sets Michigan’s Regulatory Line Against Prediction Markets
TL;DR — In an iGaming Future interview, MGCB Executive Director Henry Williams rejected CFTC prediction market rules as meritless and said they undermine state licensing and consumer protections. Michigan withdrew from the NCPG over its acceptance of a prediction market member. The state’s 2025 online gaming AGR hit $3.3B, up 39%.
SCCG Take — Unresolved federal-state boundaries on prediction markets disadvantage licensed operators. Michigan’s call for better national problem gambling data signals regulators must move beyond assumptions to measurable outcomes.
Henry Williams, Executive Director of the Michigan Gaming Control Board, has emerged as a leading advocate for regulated gambling grounded in consumer protections. With a background in social work focused on addiction, Williams joined the MGCB in 2001 and became executive director 20 years later. In an interview with iGaming Future, he outlined Michigan’s approach to responsible gaming, market growth, and emerging federal tensions.
Prediction Markets and Federal Overreach
Prediction markets now rank among the top challenges for Michigan and other states. Williams called the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s recently proposed rules meritless. “The CFTC’s proposal is meritless. Period,” he stated. “States, including Michigan, have spent years building licensing, taxation and consumer-protection regimes around sports betting and I don’t think a rule change at the CFTC substitutes for that.”
He added that the current overlap between federal and state authority creates an unstable environment for the industry. Williams said a court decision on preemption or congressional legislation is required to draw clear lines. The MGCB withdrew from the National Council on Problem Gambling after the organization accepted a prediction market operator as a member. Williams explained the move was driven by the view that the state cannot remain affiliated with an entity partnered with what it considers unlicensed gambling.
The Data Gap in Problem Gambling
Michigan operates some of the strongest guardrails in the country, including self-exclusion programs, deposit and time limits, the Disassociated Persons List, blocking software, and education campaigns such as Don’t Regret the Bet. Yet the state, like the rest of the U.S., does not track gambling harms prevalence rates. “As gambling becomes more embedded in everyday life, the data gap becomes a bigger liability,” Williams warned.
The market has expanded rapidly. One of only seven states with regulated iGaming and online sports betting, Michigan recorded $3.3 billion in adjusted gross revenue from 15 licensed operators in 2025—a 39 percent year-on-year increase that ranks it among the top three U.S. online gambling markets by revenue. Williams said future priorities center on sharper enforcement against illegal operators, deeper responsible gaming investment, and ensuring the framework adapts to new products.
Michigan’s consistent mission is to support industry growth while maintaining real guardrails, regardless of new technologies or jurisdictional disputes with the federal government.
Reporting: iGaming Future
Generated by SCCG’s automated editorial system from published source reporting. SCCG Management holds editorial responsibility.
Williams draws the line: federal prediction market rules bypass state licensing, and without harm data, consumer protection is guesswork.
This is the sharpest regulatory pushback yet on prediction markets — and it's not just jurisdictional turf. Williams is saying what a lot of state regulators are thinking: federal overreach destabilizes the licensed ecosystem we've all built. His call for real harm data, not assumptions, matters to every operator and supplier who wants to stay credible.
- Michigan withdrew from NCPG over prediction market member acceptance
- MGCB rejects CFTC rule proposal as undermining state licensing and consumer protection
- Michigan 2025 online AGR hit $3.3B, up 39%, with no prevalence data on problem gambling
SCCG angle: We help partners interpret shifting regulatory red lines and connect them with tier-one compliance advisors and state-focused legal counsel in our network. When the rules are in flux, SCCG keeps you positioned ahead of enforcement and aligned with where regulators are actually heading.
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