A federal appeals court cleared the way on Wednesday, Oct. 2, for Americans to bet on the 2024 congressional elections. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) asked the appeals court to block the prediction exchange platform Kalshi from offering congressional control contracts.
The contracts allow buyers to bet on which political party will control the House and Senate after the November election. Kalshi sued the CFTC last year after the agency denied its application to list the contracts.
The CFTC claimed betting would negatively impact election integrity.
The court sided with Kalshi, ruling the CFTC had overstepped its authority.
Circuit Judge Patricia Millett said the concerns were “understandable”, but the ultimately the CFTC failed to prove that it or the public would be damaged by the betting.
The founder of Kalshi, Tarek Mansour posted the court’s decision on X and said “Kalshi prevails.”
The CFTC did not comment on the ruling.
