Senators seek to block CFTC funding of lawsuits over prediction markets

Seventeen Democratic senators asked leaders of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government to prevent the Commodity Futures Trading Commission from using federal funds in lawsuits against state officials targeting prediction markets.

The letter was led by Senators Richard Blumenthal and Jeff Merkley and signed by 15 other Democrats, who urged the committee to block funds used by CFTC Chair Michael Selig in his legal actions against state gaming authorities. The CFTC maintains that event contracts on these platforms qualify as “swaps” and fall under its exclusive jurisdiction.

The senators warned that, “Through engaging in this campaign of litigation and intimidation, the CFTC risks becoming an instrument and enabler of online prediction markets’ efforts to bypass states’ consumer protections and oversight, creating a race-to-the-bottom in gambling.” The agency has pursued cases in Connecticut, Illinois, Arizona, Kentucky, Wisconsin, New York, Minnesota, Rhode Island and New Mexico as of June.

United States

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