CFTC sues Utah to block enforcement actions on prediction markets

On October 28, per an announcement on the CFTC website, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has filed a lawsuit against the state of Utah to prevent the state from invoking state law to shut down CFTC-registered contract markets. Previously, Utah filed civil enforcement actions in state court against CFTC-regulated markets and related entities such as Kalshi and Susquehanna. CFTC Chairman Michael S. Selig stated that Congress has authorized the CFTC to exclusively regulate such markets. Event contracts serve hedging, investment, and information discovery functions, and the CFTC will defend its exclusive jurisdiction over commodity derivatives. The CFTC noted that it has initiated legal proceedings against nine additional states and submitted legal briefs to four federal appellate courts and one state supreme court.