U.S. CFTC moves to fold event contracts into swaps regulations as legal fight rages
Summary
The CFTC issued an immediate rule excluding casino-style gambling from its definition of swaps and proposed explicitly classifying event contracts—including sports, politics, culture and weather markets—as swaps under federal oversight. The effort aims to establish the agency’s authority over prediction markets such as Kalshi and Polymarket, limiting state gambling regulators’ reach. States dispute that interpretation and are challenging it in court; rulings have been mixed, and the Supreme Court has been asked to resolve the issue. The proposal is open for 30 days of public comment. Chairman Mike Selig, currently the commission’s sole member, can set agency policy alone.
