New York Congressman Ritchie Torres believes that instead of banning election betting contracts, US regulators should focus on regulating them.
Introduction
Congressman Ritchie Torres sent a letter to US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chairman Rostin Benham urging the creation of a plan to regulate election betting contracts instead of outright banning them. Torres argues that this will prevent bad actors from gaining market share.
Torres' Arguments
Torres believes that regulators should focus their efforts and resources on promoting responsible innovation for which financial markets are known. He is willing to work with the CFTC to provide the necessary resources and address concerns together. In his letter, Torres mentioned that CFTC efforts to ban election betting contracts through further court challenges could cause 'broader harm' by delaying work on regulations crucial for election integrity and consumer protection.
He also added, 'Delays could allow illegal and unregulated markets to continue gaining market share.' Torres suggested that the CFTC would be more effective if it collaborated with regulated registrants to strengthen election integrity and protect consumers from the dangers posed by the widespread adoption of illegal and unregulated election markets.
Reactions from Other Participants
Recently, Gemini co-founder Cameron Winklevoss echoed similar thoughts, suggesting that the CFTC should avoid banning event contracts on decentralized prediction markets. Winklevoss argued that unlike polls or expert opinions, prediction markets require participants to 'put their money where their mouth is.' Torres' opinion follows after Judge Jia Cobb's ruling in the US District Court for the District of Columbia that the CFTC exceeded its statutory authority by issuing an order halting Kalshi's election markets. The CFTC argued that gambling on US political races could disrupt markets and threaten election integrity.
Congressman Ritchie Torres calls for regulating election betting contracts to ensure their integrity and protect consumers, rather than banning them entirely. He is ready to work with the CFTC to achieve this goal.
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