There is the latest development in the legal dispute between the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and prediction market platform Kalshi. A federal appeals court has ruled that prediction market platform Kalshi can offer election betting contracts, rejecting a request by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to halt the activity.
With the U.S. election just a month away, the ruling allows Kalshi to relaunch its prediction market focused on judging which party will control Congress.
Blockchain previously reported that the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) urged a panel of judges to consider an emergency motion filed by the CFTC, requesting an emergency stay of a previous judge’s ruling that the CFTC had no authority to ban Kalshi. List prediction contracts related to the US election. For his part, Kalshi argued that the CFTC’s view was too broad. However, a U.S. federal appeals court gave Kalshi permission to list contracts for activities related to U.S. election results despite objections from regulators, according to the court's latest ruling.
The Washington, D.C., appeals court on October 2 overturned the CFTC’s previous restrictions on Kalshi and now allows Kalshi to list contract bets related to the presidential election. This key decision changes the landscape of election betting, allowing US users to participate in these prediction markets domestically rather than having to rely on overseas platforms like Polymarket, which has seen a significant increase in trading volumes for its election-related products.
Kalshi founder Tarek Mansour hailed the ruling as a historic moment, calling it "the 'first transaction' in a regulated prediction market in nearly a century." The court found that the CFTC failed to adequately demonstrate that lifting the restrictions would cause irreparable harm to the agency or the public. While the CFTC expressed concerns about the risks such contracts could pose to the public interest, the court found no illegal activity in Kalshi’s event contract, which allows users to express a yes or no opinion on congressional control.
As Election Day approaches, Kalshi’s ability to operate its prediction markets could change the way Americans engage in political prediction and betting, providing a regulated option for those interested in betting on key election outcomes. The development highlights growing interest in election-related betting products, with platforms such as PredictIt and Polymarket both experiencing significant user growth and trading activity in recent years.
"The Federal Court of Appeal rules that Kalshi can legally provide election betting contracts, reshaping the US election prediction market" This article was first published on (Blocker).
