Kalshi Election Betting Full Speed Ahead

Prediction market Kalshi is allowed  to continue offering election-related betting contracts following the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)'s decision to drop its appeal against a court ruling that favored Kalshi.

The CFTC, in a filing at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, said its proposed dismissal was voluntary and on terms agreed to with Kalshi.

Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour, in a statement, said, “Today is historic. We have always believed that doing things the right way, no matter how hard, no matter how painful, pays off.”

“This result is proof of that. Kalshi’s approach has officially and definitively secured the future of prediction markets in America,” Mansour said.

On Monday, the financial reform advocacy group Better Markets blasted the CFTC’s decision to drop the appeal, calling it “a stark betrayal of the public interest.”

“The CFTC has just voluntarily surrendered its fight to overturn a dangerous lower court decision that allows gambling on the outcome of congressional elections,” said Stephen Hall, Better Markets’ legal director and securities specialist.”

“That decision was bad law and even worse policy, as it threatens the integrity of our federal elections, promises a new wave of market manipulation and investor losses, and casts the CFTC in the role of election supervisor, something the small agency lacks the resources or expertise to do,” Hall said.

“Moreover, with this dismissal, the lower court decision will remain intact, setting a terrible and enduring legal precedent.  This about-face, without any hint of a justification and after the case was fully briefed and argued by both sides, is an ominous setback for all Americans.”