Oregon senator voices support for election wagering ban
He said allowing these types of bets could compromise election integrity.
US Senator Jeff Merkley has called for a ban on election gambling, according to a new Central Oregon Daily report.
The Oregon Senator told local news that when it comes to Americans wagering on the upcoming election, “this should not and cannot happen.”
Merkley also said he believes that allowing these types of bets “interferes with the integrity of elections.”
He further commented, “It really reduces elections to a horse race that cheapens and weakens our democracy.
“You’ve converted a competition about leadership and ideas and character into a competition about how do I make the most money?”
With months to go before voters will visit the polls for the federal election, the topic of election betting has been one of controversy.
The CFTC is currently in a legal grapple with Kalshi on the fate of US election betting during the past several months.
Federal Judge Jia Cobb recently ruled in favor of allowing Americans to bet on the outcome of the upcoming US election. Following the ruling, Kalshi set up election betting venues for US players.
However, the CFTC appealed Cobb’s ruling within hours of the decision and all election betting options were removed from Kalshi’s website. After the appeal was filed, the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit issued an order to “temporarily freezing the matter until it can consider and rule on the issue.”
Prior to Judge Cobb’s ruling to allow election betting, the CFTC had ordered Kalshi not to offer derivatives that would allow players to wager on the election.
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