CFTC strikes down Kalshi proposal, disallows 2024 Congressional election betting

The commission said the contracts were against state law and conflicted with public interest.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has determined that US investors cannot directly bet on the outcome of the 2024 Congressional elections. The organization ruled that contracts “involving gaming and activity that is unlawful under state law and are contrary to the public interest.”

The ruling includes congressional control political event contracts self-certified by KalshiEX.

The decision follows a recent letter that five US Senators sent to CFTC Chairman Rostin Behnam, requesting the organization to reject Kalshi’s proposal to allow wagers on next year’s election. The proposal would have allowed some traders to place wagers for up to $100m, which raised concerns regarding potential election interference.

The letter said, “There is no doubt that the mass commodification of our democratic process would raise widespread concerns about the integrity of our electoral process. Such an outcome is in clear conflict with the public interest and would undermine confidence in our political process — we urge the CFTC to deny Kalshi’s proposal.

“Kalshi’s proposal closely resembles gaming; placing a bet or wager on the outcome of an election is civilly or criminally unlawful in well over a dozen states nationwide, and establishing a large for-profit market on election outcomes is decidedly contrary to the public interest.”

The CFTC reviewed the complete record and said that the Kalshi contracts are pursuant to section 5c(c)(5)(C) of the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) and CFTC Regulation 40.11, which mean that the they are “prohibited and cannot be listed or made available for clearing or trading on or through Kalshi.”

Isabella Santos

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