1 month ago
Robinhood launched its in-app prediction markets hub past week, allowing users to stake connected the result of March Madness matchups.
Mar 24, 2025, 9:04 p.m. UTC
Massachusetts’ apical securities regulator has reportedly launched a probe into Robinhood implicit the fashionable trading platform’s caller determination to motorboat an in-app prediction markets hub that allows customers to stake connected the result of events, including March Madness match-ups.
According to a Monday report from Reuters, Massachusetts Secretary of State Bill Galvin — a notoriously assertive regulator — sent Robinhood a subpoena past week seeking accusation astir the fig of Robinhood’s users successful Massachusetts that person requested to commercialized assemblage sports events contracts, and seeking copies of Robinhood’s related selling materials.
"This is conscionable different gimmick from a institution that's precise bully astatine gimmicks to lure investors distant from dependable investing," Galvin told Reuters. Galvin's bureau confirmed the probe to CoinDesk, and added that Robinhood's effect to the subpoena is owed connected April 3.
Robinhood’s prediction market, which is powered by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)-regulated Kalshi, launched connected March 17 with March Madness-related lawsuit contracts, arsenic good arsenic different linked to the precocious bound of the target fed funds complaint successful May. At the clip of the launch, Robinhood told CoinDesk that it had been successful connection with the CFTC “in caller weeks” starring up to the launch.
A spokesperson for Robinhood reiterated that the lawsuit contracts offered done its prediction markets hub were “regulated by the CFTC and offered done CFTC-registered entities.”
“Prediction markets person go progressively applicable for retail and organization investors alike, and we're arrogant to beryllium 1 of the archetypal platforms to connection these products to retail customers successful a harmless and regulated manner,” the spokesperson added.
The trading level antecedently attempted to motorboat its prediction markets hub successful February, up of the Super Bowl, but delayed the motorboat at the petition of the CFTC.
Cheyenne Ligon
On the quality squad astatine CoinDesk, Cheyenne focuses connected crypto regularisation and crime. Cheyenne is primitively from Houston, Texas. She studied governmental subject astatine Tulane University successful Louisiana. In December 2021, she graduated from CUNY's Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism, wherever she focused connected concern and economics reporting. She has nary important crypto holdings.
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