US Regulator Files Emergency Motion To Block Election Betting Contracts

According to Cointelegraph, the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has urgently filed an emergency motion to prevent Kalshi, a US prediction market, from offering election betting contracts. This action follows a judge's decision to overturn a previous order that halted Kalshi’s election markets. In a court filing dated September 6, the CFTC requested an “emergency stay” of the court’s decision that overturned its order prohibiting Kalshi from listing its election contracts for trading. The regulator argued that without the court’s detailed reasoning, it cannot make an informed decision on whether to appeal or fully brief a motion for a stay pending any forthcoming appeal. The CFTC emphasized the urgency of the matter, stating that Kalshi is expected to immediately list the relevant election contracts and begin trading as soon as they are listed. The regulator supported its request by noting that Kalshi had already announced on its homepage that “Election Markets are Coming to Kalshi!” The filing coincides with Judge Jia Cobb of the US District Court for the District of Columbia ruling in favor of Kalshi, allowing the platform to offer products that enable people to bet on the outcome of the US election on November 4. Following the ruling, Kalshi published an announcement on its website. Jake Chervinsky, chief legal officer at Variant Fund, commented on the ruling in a September 7 post, describing it as a “HUGE win” for Kalshi. However, he also expressed a desire to see the judicial opinion before making further comments. Chervinsky suggested that the best way to address regulatory overreach is to file more lawsuits. The CFTC initially submitted the order in September 2023, arguing that the contracts involve gaming and activities that are unlawful under state law and contrary to the public interest.