Parties urge Supreme Court to review prediction market ruling
CIE News ·
Multiple groups urged the Supreme Court to hear a sports prediction market case, according to CoinDesk. Filers challenge a Third Circuit ruling backing CFTC jurisdiction.
Multiple parties submitted amicus briefs urging the Supreme Court of the United States to take up a case on whether sports-based prediction market contracts constitute swaps, according to CoinDesk. The filers include former Senator Chris Dodd, former CFTC and SEC Chair Gary Gensler, the National Football League, 39 states alongside the District of Columbia, and 145 tribal nations. Most briefs argue that sports-related contracts are gambling instruments subject to state regulation rather than oversight by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
The submissions challenge an earlier 2-1 decision by a Third Circuit Court of Appeals panel that favored CFTC jurisdiction over sports-based prediction markets. Dodd asserted in his filing that the Dodd-Frank Act did not intend to preempt state gambling oversight, noting that chained wagers do not facilitate price discovery or hedging under the Commodity Exchange Act. Gensler similarly contended that the law did not grant the CFTC power to override state laws, while the NFL criticized the agency's oversight approach.
The CFTC subsequently released an interim final rule and a separate proposal to clarify its swap definitions, according to CoinDesk. The regulator stated that casino gambling falls outside its swap definition while seeking to formally include sports, politics, and event contracts.