U.S. CFTC: The wave of gambling on the U.S. elections is about to erupt, which will harm the public interest

ChainCatcher news, according to CoinDesk, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has warned that election gambling related to the U.S. elections is about to see explosive growth, and has requested the appellate court to continue suspending Kalshi's political prediction market while the agency's appeal is still pending.

In a document submitted on Saturday, the CFTC stated that the district court's order has been interpreted by Kalshi and others as the "open season for election gambling," referring to a ruling on September 6 that determined the CFTC should not block the company from offering contracts on which party will control both houses of Congress.

The agency noted that following this ruling, Wall Street giant Interactive Brokers announced it would offer contracts for the presidential election through its CFTC-regulated subsidiary. The CFTC indicated that unless the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia extends the suspension of Kalshi contracts during the appeal, other CFTC-regulated exchanges will follow suit.

The CFTC reiterated that "the surge in election gambling on U.S. futures exchanges will harm the public interest." These harms include market manipulation and undermining the integrity of elections.