US President Donald Trump gave a ringing endorsement of CFTC’s regulatory oversight status for prediction markets on Tuesday. Taking to social media, the 47th president said that “it is critically important that the CFTC’s exclusive authority over Prediction Markets is maintained.”
President Trump added that it is just as important that prediction markets “thrive,” which is a stark contrast to the stances put forth by state and tribal gaming authorities. On top of that, the president placed special emphasis on the importance of America’s designation as the “Crypto (Bitcoin, etc.) Capital of the World.”
Although the sitting chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission has received a massive amount of criticism from gaming interests that are against prediction markets, the former host of The Apprentice disagrees. “Mike Selig, CFTC Chairman, and respected by all, is doing a great job,” posted Trump on Tuesday afternoon.
The CFTC is currently engaged, via legal actions, with six states – all of which are battling in the courts to outright prohibit prediction exchanges and/or bring them under state control and taxation. Recently, Minnesota became the first state to ban prediction markets. The new MN law, set to take effect on August 1st, makes operating an exchange or collaborating with one a felony.
As anticipated, the CFTC subsequently sued Minnesota over the ban, and is requesting that the courts grant injunctive relief so that the MN law doesn’t become active in August. To date, the federal agency has filed direct legal action against the states of Minnesota, Illinois, New York, Wisconsin, Arizona, and Connecticut. It also filed an amicus brief in Kalshi’s case against the Ohio Casino Control Commission earlier this month.
True to form, the president’s social media comment did not leave members of the opposing side of the issue unscathed. Former New Jersey governor Chris Christie, current New York Attorney General Letitia James, sitting Minnesota governor Tim Walz, and Illinois’ top executive JB Pritzker were all labeled as “SCUM” by President Trump.
Christie, who at the moment isn’t representing a state that’s pursuing legal action against prediction markets, has nonetheless made his view clear. “Polymarket and Kalshi are violating laws in all 50 states,” Christie told CNBC back in February.
Despite the former NJ governor’s lack of direct legal involvement in the battle over prediction market regulation, he is a well known decision maker within the casino business. The 55th governor of the Garden State reigned over the formal legalization of online casino gaming back in 2013. He was also key in establishing the iGaming licensing model (in which online casinos and sportsbooks partner with land based casinos) that is now prevalent in statewide jurisdictions across the country.
Trump thinks differently. The existing CFTC regulatory mechanism is a “Gold Standard for the States,” one that shouldn’t be sullied by “SCUM” like Christie “setting the rules,” says POTUS.
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