Kalshi v. CFTC (2024)
D.C. District Judge Jia Cobb ruled the CFTC overstepped by blocking Kalshi's election contracts, saying the agency couldn't ban contracts just because betting on them might undermine public confidence. Kalshi began offering congressional control markets within days.
Prediction markets expanded into U.S. elections, with heavy trading on the 2024 presidential race.
Established that CFTC-registered exchanges can offer event contracts absent explicit commission rules, fueling the state pushback Utah's law represents.
The preemption argument Kalshi won in Washington failed in Utah, showing how the fight over prediction-market jurisdiction is playing out differently across courts.
