Beginning in 2022, KalshiEX LLC sought to introduce an “event contract” allowing speculators to wager up to $100 million on the outcomes of congressional elections. This venture set off loud alarms, and in the years since, Better Markets has called upon public interest organizations, policymakers, and concerned citizens to urge the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to prohibit these contracts. And that’s exactly what the CFTC did in September 2023 when it prohibited the listing of Kalshi’s election gambling contracts. But last year a district court vacated the CFTC’s ban, allowing bets on the 2024 congressional elections on Kalshi’s platform. The CFTC’s appeal is pending in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
