The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission is increasing its oversight of sports-related prediction markets and has confirmed talks with all major American professional sports leagues.
The regulator is seeking cooperation to monitor insider trading and market manipulation linked to sports event contracts.
CFTC Chairman Mike Selig announced the development during a financial industry conference in Washington DC. The agency had previously signed a formal data-sharing agreement with Major League Baseball, marking its first official partnership with a professional sports organization.
These talks come as platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket continue to expand into sports prediction contracts. Their growth has led to legal clashes with state gaming regulators over whether these products should be treated as gambling or as federally regulated financial contracts.
Selig defended the CFTC’s authority over these products and said the regulator has already sued several states trying to block federally regulated event contracts. He argued that sports prediction contracts fall under financial market laws, not traditional gambling regulations.
The chairman also discussed insider trading concerns, mentioning cases where people with non-public information, such as sports staff or media insiders, could misuse prediction markets.
According to Selig, exchanges are the first line of defence because they conduct customer verification and anti-money laundering checks.
These comments show growing federal acceptance of prediction markets under the current US administration, along with broader support for crypto-linked financial products.
LATEST: ⚡ The CFTC says it is in talks with every major US professional sports league to police insider trading in prediction markets, following a data-sharing deal with MLB. pic.twitter.com/Hmdg6YDic0
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