Sporttrade operates sports prediction platforms across the US, having licenses with five states. Feeling threatened by unregulated sites like Kalshi, it is asking the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) for permission to offer its product across the country, or else it’ll be at a competitive disadvantage which could cause “irreparable harm.”
hopes that state regulators will understand where he’s coming from
As first reported by Sportico, CEO Alex Kane wrote the letter to the commission and hopes that state regulators will understand where he’s coming from with the changing approach. He outlined in the correspondence that the company is getting ready with a request to start accepting “trades on event contracts without formal federal registration.”
Kalshi has pushed back against backlash from state regulators that issued cease-and-desist letters, even pursuing legal action against some of them.
Kalshi claims that its sports contract products aren’t a type of betting and, as a result, should be under the purview of the CFTC rather than gambling regulators. In contrast, Sporttrade CEO Kane says that claiming these products aren’t a type of sports betting would be “a ridiculous comment.”
He did emphasize his belief that prediction markets are better for users than traditional sportsbooks as the returns are potentially higher and customers don’t get heavily limited when they’re winning.
