Louisiana AG Calls CFTC Chair a "Sycophantic Flag-Bearer" for Prediction Markets

November 15: According to The Block, Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill said in a post on Saturday that CFTC Chair Michael Selig is a "sycophantic flag-bearer" for Kalshi and prediction markets, and accused his remarks of being "completely false." The day before, the CFTC sued Louisiana in federal court in an attempt to block a temporary injunction from a state court. Issued by a state judge on November 12, the injunction requires about 31 related entities, including Kalshi, Polymarket, Coinbase and Robinhood, to stop offering event contracts in the state and to impose geofencing restrictions unless they obtain a state license. A hearing on the preliminary injunction is scheduled for November 30.

Selig had said that event contracts have been traded openly in Louisiana for years, in compliance with the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) and CFTC regulations, and dismissed the state's "emergency" lawsuit as "naked lawfare and cynical political theater."