The Biden administration ordered a ban on 2024 election betting markets, which often show former President Donald Trump winning in November and President Joe Biden remaining his party’s nominee.Rostin Behnam, the chairman of the C.F.T.C., said in an interview on Wednesday that he was sympathetic to the idea that the markets have social utility, especially in an election year.
But, he said, it’s urgent to rein in the markets now because “there has been an exponential growth in the contracts that are, or want to be, listed” on commercial exchanges. If they are left unchecked, he said, the commission could find itself in the position of needing to investigate allegations of election fraud that could alter the prices of election prediction contracts. Big money is in play in U.S. elections, he said, and “election integrity and the democratic process” need to be protected.
The proposed rule would also prohibit placing wagers on prediction markets on less weighty subjects than national elections. Prohibited areas include the Oscars and other awards, sports and sports-connected events and unspecified subjects broadly classified as “gaming” — a word that I usually translate as gambling but that the commission has been using more broadly.
Stephen A. Smith Demands Police Video of Scottie Scheffler Arrest: ‘If it Were Tiger Woods You’d Have it’Trump Witness Merchan Silenced Speaks Out: Brad Smith Explains What He Would Have Told Jury