CFTC Chairman Michael Selig has signaled that the agency will stop calling on the soccer league to make changes to contracts for events that could be manipulated by one person.
The National Football League (NFL) has reportedly sent letters to Kalshi, Polymarket and other prediction market platforms in an effort to block the companies from offering trades on football events that can be easily manipulated or determined in advance.
According to a Monday ESPN report, the letters to the prediction market companies said that the NFL objected to certain types of event contracts offered on the platforms, including those that could be easily manipulated by a single person — such as an announcer’s words, player signings, coach firings and bets related to injuries on the field. League executive vice president Jeff Miller reportedly said the letter followed talks with the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
“When a league raises manipulation concerns about a contract proposed to be listed on a prediction market, the agency considers the league’s concerns and may prohibit the contract from being listed,” said CFTC Chair Michael Selig in a Monday interview with ESPN posted to X, adding:
“[T]“The leagues are very well-prepared to engage in these types of conversations, so we will show great respect to the leagues on these types of issues.”
Under Selig, the CFTC has begun to claim “exclusive jurisdiction” over prediction markets, even as many U.S. state gaming authorities continue to file lawsuits against platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket. Earlier this month, Major League Baseball (MLB) signed a memorandum of understanding with the U.S. regulator in response to requests for “integrity protection.”
Related: Detroit is set to enter Michigan’s battle with Coinbase’s prediction markets
Cointelegraph reached out to Kalshi and Polymarket for comment on the NFL letters but did not receive an immediate response.
US lawmakers are considering legislation to combat insider trading in prediction markets
The NFL’s letter comes after US lawmakers introduced bills in response to “highly unusual bets” on prediction markets platforms, flagging sensitive information about the country’s attacks on Iran. Another proposed bill would ban the U.S. president and lawmakers from betting on the platforms.
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