New York Congressman Ritchie Torres argued that instead of trying to ban election betting contracts, United States regulators should focus on regulating these contracts to prevent bad actors from gaining market share.
âI would ask that the Commission consider working toward a plan for regulating these markets, rather than preventing them from existing in regulated markets,â Torres wrote in a recent letter to the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) chairman Rostin Behnam, shared by Politico.
Torres extends hand to help with regulations
The crypto-friendly democrat argued that the regulator should âfocus its energies and resources on promoting the responsible innovation for which our financial markets are known.â
âI am more than happy to work with the CFTC to provide the resources needed and to address any concerns together,â Torres declared.
He believes that the CFTCâs effort and resources spent fighting to ban election betting contracts through âfurther court challengesâ could ultimately cause âbroader harmâ by delaying work on regulations crucial for election integrity and consumer protection. He noted:
âDelays could allow illegal and unregulated markets to continue gaining market share.â
Torres suggested that the CFTC would be more effective if it collaborated with âregulated registrantsâ to strengthen election integrity and âprotect consumers from the dangers posed by the widespread adoption of illegal and unregulated election markets.âÂ
It comes not long after Gemini co-founder Cameron Winklevoss echoed a similar sentiment that the CFTC should avoid banning event contracts on decentralized prediction markets.
âUnlike polls, pundits, or expert opinions, they require participants to put their money where their mouth is â to have skin in the game,â Winklevoss claimed in an Aug. 9 post.
The letter coms after a Sept. 12 opinion was filed in the US District Court for the District of Columbia, with Judge Jia Cobb arguing that the CFTC âexceeded its statutory authorityâ by issuing an order halting Kalshiâs election markets.Â
The commission argued that gambling on the US political races could disrupt markets and threaten election integrity.
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