CFTC to Police Electing-Betting Platforms, Chair Behnam Says
(Bloomberg) -- The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission will police registered political derivatives markets despite its best efforts to kill them, agency Chairman Rostin Behnam said during a Tuesday interview with Bloomberg Television.
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The futures and swaps regulator finds itself having to serve as what Behnam likens to an “elections cop” even as it wages a court fight with Kalshi Inc., an exchange that lets Americans bet on election outcomes.
“We’ll pursue any action, as we do in any part of our markets,” Behnam said. He added that the agency is still litigating an appeal of a September court decision allowing Kalshi’s political prediction-market contracts to move forward.
The markets on Kalshi, PredictIt and unregulated, crypto-based Polymarket have drawn increased attention in recent weeks as the bets pile up.
Polymarket has come under sharper scrutiny due to trading by a handful of users, allegedly based overseas, who are wagering millions of dollars on the likelihood of former President Donald Trump serving a second term.
Behnam also spoke Tuesday afternoon at the Bloomberg Global Regulatory Forum in New York.
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