Government panel formed
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has announced the formation of a committee of 35 executives from prediction markets (PMs), sports betting, crypto, and decentralized and legacy finance backgrounds.
multiple sector leaders under one “federal derivatives umbrella”
CFTC Chair Mike Selig’s Innovation Advisory Committee (IAC) announced last week gathers the multiple sector leaders under one “federal derivatives umbrella,” as part of the Trump Administration’s ongoing effort to modernize the government.
Selig took to X last week with the list, naming executives from Coinbase’s Brian Armstrong and Gemini’s Tyler Winklevoss to DraftKings CEO Jason Robins, as well as Shayne Coplan and Tarek Mansour, the respective heads of PM heavyweights Kalshi and Polymarket:
Selig stated the IAC would help “future-proof” markets and deliver clearer rules for what he called the “Golden Age of American Financial Markets.”
Powerful panel
Selig was beaten to his announcement on X by a Daily Wire scoop, which had many industry observers respond to the news.
Political analyst Nathan Dean stated the executives appointed to the IAC represented “a powerful line-up. Everyone you need from the crypto, equity, and derivatives worlds.”
The move was preceded by the appointment of PM coalition members Robinhood and Coinbase along with nearly 30 private sector brands in December to the White House’s new two-year program, aimed at modernizing the government via the recruiting of technology specialists.
In late January, Selig stepped up the pace, withdrawing a Biden-era rule that had restricted sporting and political PM events, and stating the CFTC could actively assist in ongoing legal cases involving PM firms. While the protective gauntlet thrown around PMs by the federal body was slammed by state regulators and tribal bodies, the new IAC panel has attracted even more fire.
Longtime PM adversary, the Indian Gaming Association Chair Victor Rocha likened Selig’s lineup to a famous American Mafia summit in 1957, stating it looked like “the Apalachin Meeting for prediction markets.”
Why sportsbooks?
The inclusion of established US iGaming giants FanDuel and DraftKings to the IAC had reporter Matthew Zeitlin questioning why the pair were included among PMs and crypto platforms.
While Zeitlin asked “isn’t their business totally different” from the others on the IAC, FanDuel and DraftKings now have PM arms in addition to their traditional, state-regulated operations as entities on the list overlap under Selig’s new purview.
We’re not telling people whether to trade pork bellies or Cardi B contracts”
Selig, meanwhile, stated on an Odds Lots podcast last week that the CFTC does not “merit regulate” when it comes to PMs. The CFTC Chair said his body doesn’t dictate what contracts users go for, but simply creates “rules and regulations for those markets.” Selig added: “We’re not telling people whether to trade pork bellies or Cardi B contracts or anything else.”
