In Kalshi’s legal battle with Ohio, the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission has lent its support, requesting that an appeals court confirm that the commission has authority over prediction markets.
On Tuesday, the CFTC submitted an amicus brief to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, accusing Ohio of engaging in “jurisdictional overreach” when it ordered Kalshi to cease providing sports event contracts in the state last year, citing them as instances of unauthorized sports gambling.
Improperly Narrow View
Following a denial of its motion in March, Kalshi decided to appeal the decision. In October, it sued Ohio authorities, requesting that a federal court prevent the Ohio Casino Control Commission and the state attorney general from acting.
CFTC Chairman Mike Selig said in a statement:
“The federal district court in Ohio took an improperly narrow view of the Commission’s jurisdiction, and we are asking the Court of Appeals to correct that error. As I’ve said repeatedly, the CFTC will not allow overzealous state governments to undermine the agency’s longstanding authority over these markets.”
This case has consequences for big prediction market platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket, and it’s one of several like it that are trying to decide whether states may limit prediction markets that are authorized by the federal government.
This is the second time the CFTC has backed a prediction market; in February, it backed Crypto.com in its legal fight against Nevada authorities in an amicus brief it had submitted with the Ninth Circuit Appeals Court.
The CFTC said in its brief that the agency’s oversight of event contracts traded as swaps or binary options on designated contract markets (DCMs) “threatens regulatory upheaval” due to Ohio’s jurisdictional overreach into the Commission’s realm.
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