CFTC Warns Of Potential Surge In Election Betting Activities

According to Odaily, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has issued a warning about an imminent surge in election betting activities and has requested an appellate court to extend the suspension of Kalshi's political prediction market. The CFTC stated in a document released on Saturday that the district court's order has been interpreted by Kalshi and others as an open season for election betting. Recently, U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb in the District of Columbia issued a formal opinion, ruling that the CFTC does not have the authority to conduct a 'public interest review' to block Kalshi from listing political prediction markets in the United States. Judge Cobb noted that Kalshi's contracts do not involve illegal activities or gambling but are related to elections, which do not fall under the CFTC's jurisdiction. Currently, the U.S. Congress has revoked the CFTC's authority to conduct public reviews of certain proposed futures contracts, stating that such reviews are only necessary if the contracts fall into specific categories like terrorism or gambling. Following this decision, major Wall Street brokerage firm Interactive Brokers announced that it would offer contracts related to the presidential election through a CFTC-regulated subsidiary. The CFTC emphasized that unless the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia extends the suspension of Kalshi's contracts during the appeal period, other CFTC-regulated exchanges are likely to follow suit. The agency reiterated that a surge in election betting on U.S. futures exchanges would harm public interest, citing risks such as market manipulation and damage to election integrity.