US CFTC warns of impending election betting boom, seeks court extension of suspension of Kalshi political prediction market

The U.S. CFTC warned that "election betting is about to explode" and asked the appeals court to extend the suspension of Kalshi's political prediction market. "The district court's order was interpreted by Kalshi and others as an open season for election betting," the CFTC said in a filing on Saturday. Recently, U.S. District of Columbia federal judge Jia Cobb issued a formal opinion, ruling that the CFTC has no authority to conduct a "public interest review" to prevent Kalshi from listing a political prediction market in the United States. Judge Cobb pointed out that Kalshi's contracts do not involve illegal activities or gambling, but about elections, neither of which falls within the jurisdiction of the CFTC. Currently, the U.S. Congress has revoked the CFTC's public review of certain proposed futures contracts, saying that unless these contracts fall into specific categories such as terrorism or gambling. The CFTC noted that after this decision, Interactive Brokers, a heavyweight Wall Street broker, announced that it would offer contracts on presidential elections through a subsidiary regulated by the CFTC. The agency said that unless the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia extends its suspension of Kalshi contracts during the appeal, other CFTC-regulated exchanges will follow suit. "A surge in election betting on U.S. futures exchanges would harm the public interest." The CFTC reiterated that the harms include market manipulation and "harm to election integrity." (CoinDesk)