Sweet Alchemy

What is Sweet Alchemy?

Rovito was among 22 people indicted in April in a federal case involving an alleged illegal gambling operation in northwest Indiana. 

Prosecutors charged him with operating an illegal gambling business and conspiracy to collect extensions of credit by extortionate means. The indictment alleges that the operation involved sports betting and the collection of gambling debts.

Rovito has pleaded not guilty and is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court. His attorney has disputed the government’s allegations, claiming that the indictment does not allege his client collected money, made any threats, or directed other defendants to do so.

How to play Sweet Alchemy

Polymarket and other prediction markets that ventured into sports trading last year maintain that they’re financial platforms governed by federal law.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) agrees, continuing to defend its claimed “exclusive jurisdiction” over sports prediction markets in federal and state courts across the nation.

The legal wrangling extends to Michigan, where Attorney General Dana Nessel has rejected Polymarket and the CFTC’s arguments that the Michigan Gaming Control Board has no regulatory authority over prediction markets, even the ones allowing traders to buy and sell shares of sports outcomes.

How to play Sweet Alchemy

The conflict stems back to January 2025, when the outgoing Biden administration initially determined that the Vallejo parcel was eligible for gaming.

Interior temporarily rescinded that determination just two months later after newly appointed Secretary Doug Burgum raised concerns over whether the tribe’s historical connection to the land had been thoroughly evaluated.

Scotts Valley filed suit in response. In October 2025, Judge McFadden ruled that Interior had violated the tribe’s due process rights by rescinding the approval without giving prior notice or an opportunity to respond.