CFTC backs prediction market Kalshi in appeals court fight against Ohio
The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission has backed Kalshi in the companys legal fight against the state of Ohio, asking an appeals court to affirm that the regulator has jurisdiction over prediction markets. The CFTC filed an amicus brief in the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday, accusing Ohio of “jurisdictional overreach” after state authorities told Kalshi last year to stop offering sports event contracts in the state, calling them unlicensed sports gambling. Kalshi sued Ohio authorities in October, seeking to have a federal court stop the Ohio Casino Control Commission and the state attorney general from taking action, but the court denied the request in March, leading Kalshi to appeal the decision. “The federal district court in Ohio took an improperly narrow view of the Commission‘s jurisdiction, and we are asking the Court of Appeals to correct that error,” CFTC Chairman Mike Selig said in a statement. “As I’ve said repeatedly, the CFTC will not allow overzealous state governments to undermine the agencys longstanding authority over these markets.” The dispute is one of many similar cases determining whether states have the power to restrict federally regulated prediction markets and has implications for major prediction market platforms such as Kalshi and Polymarket. The CFTCs