Federal appeals court allows prediction market Kalshi to offer US election betting

A federal appeals court in Washington, DC, on Wednesday allowed a prediction market to offer election betting, denying a government watchdog’s request to halt a ruling that made way for legal political gambling in the United States.

A federal appeals court in Washington, DC, on Wednesday allowed a prediction market to offer election betting, denying a government watchdog’s request to halt a ruling that made way for legal political gambling in the United States. Kalshi, an online platform where users can bet on the outcomes of future events, relaunched its congressional control contracts a few hours after the ruling, letting Americans bet on which party will control the House and Senate in 2025. It is unclear whether the New York-based startup will launch more election markets. A panel of three judges unanimously ruled Wednesday that the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which had argued that the wagers were illegal and could harm the integrity of elections, failed to demonstrate how it or the public “will be irreparably harmed while its appeal is heard.” “In short, the concerns voiced by the Commission are understandable given the uncertain effects that Congressional Control Contracts will have on our elections, which are the very linchpin of our democracy,” Judge Patricia Millett wrote for the DC Circuit Court of Appeals. “But whether the statutory text allows the Commission to bar such event contracts is debatable, and the Commission has not substantiated that risks to election integrity are likely to materialize if Kalshi is allowed to operate its exchange during the pendency of this appeal.” Wednesday’s ruling allows the agency to make another bid to pause the ruling while the appeal plays out “should more concrete evidence of irreparable harm develop.” Kalshi initially rolled out the contracts on September 12 after US District Judge Jia Cobb in Washington rejected the commission’s bid to stop the platform from offering them. The CFTC quickly appealed the judge’s decision. The DC Circuit Court of Appeals then temporarily blocked Kalshi from offering the bets while it considered the agency’s proposal for a temporary pause.