U.S. CFTC in talks with every major pro sports league on policing prediction markets

Chairman Michael Selig says the bureau has already taken respective states to tribunal to beryllium that sports contracts aren't conscionable betting but that they're derivatives.

May 12, 2026, 3:38 p.m. 2 min read

Chairman Mike Selig of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) said his bureau is successful talks with each large U.S. nonrecreational sports leagues arsenic national regulators deepen oversight of sports-related prediction markets.

The regulator is seeking broader practice with leagues to show insider trading and marketplace manipulation tied to lawsuit contracts, Selig said Tuesday astatine the yearly FINRA league successful Washington D.C. connected Tuesday, pursuing an earlier CFTC announcement of a data-sharing statement with Major League Baseball successful March.

“We’ve entered into a memorandum of knowing with Major League Baseball, and we’re successful talks with each the nonrecreational sports leagues,” Selig said astatine the event, hosted by the brokerage industry's self-regulatory organization.

The CFTC statement with shot was its archetypal ceremonial information-sharing woody with a nonrecreational sports organization. The statement comes arsenic federally regulated prediction markets specified arsenic Kalshi and Polymarket determination deeper into sports contracts, triggering disputes with authorities gaming regulators implicit who controls the sector.

Selig took an assertive stance connected that ineligible fight. He said the CFTC has already sued “about 5 oregon six states” implicit attempts to artifact federally regulated lawsuit contracts and pledged the bureau would proceed bringing cases against states that situation the commission’s authority. Under U.S. law, derivatives listed connected CFTC-regulated exchanges autumn nether national oversight alternatively than authorities gaming laws, he's repeatedly argued.

“Different products, parallel regimes,” helium said, comparing sports prediction contracts with accepted casino betting.

The president besides outlined however the bureau is approaching insider trading successful prediction markets, an country regulators person lone precocious begun confronting.

Selig cited a lawsuit policed by the level Kalshi involving YouTube creator MrBeast successful which an worker allegedly traded up of market-moving information tied to online contented releases. He besides described hypothetical sports-related scenarios, including trainers oregon squad unit trading connected nonpublic wounded accusation earlier games.

The exchanges themselves stay the “first enactment of defense,” Selig said, due to the fact that they behaviour know-your-customer and anti-money laundering checks that tin assistance place suspicious activity.

The CFTC besides expects prediction markets to dispersed into mainstream concern products.

Selig said regulators are reviewing exchange-traded products and funds linked to prediction-market strategies and are coordinating oversight with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). SEC seat Paul Atkins is scheduled to talk astatine the league aboriginal this afternoon.

Selig’s remarks awesome a broader displacement astatine the CFTC nether the Trump administration, which has embraced prediction markets and crypto-linked fiscal products aft years of regulatory absorption toward the sector.