WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senators Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) and Adam Schiff (D-CA) led over 20 Democratic Senators to urge Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chairman Michael Selig to abstain from intervening in pending litigation involving prediction markets and to maintain the Commission’s prohibition on CFTC-registered platforms listing prediction contracts involving gaming, including sports, war, terrorism, assassination. Slotkin continues to work with Michigan tribes and the Michigan Gaming Control Board on this issue.
On November 19, 2025, Chairman Selig testified before the Senate Agriculture Committee that he would not pre-judge whether sports event contracts were “gaming” and repeatedly stated that he would look to the courts. Instead, Selig has unilaterally proceeded with rulemaking and intervening in ongoing litigation. Last week, he posted that he ‘strongly disagrees’ that prediction markets violate the law, a stark reversal of prior statements before Congress.
“The real-world consequences are already evident. Prediction market platforms are offering contracts that mirror sportsbook wagers and, in some cases, contracts tied to war and armed conflict. These products evade state and tribal consumer protections, generate no public revenue, and undermine sovereign regulatory regimes,” continued the Senators.
“We therefore urge you to realign the Commission’s actions with the statute and with the testimony you provided to Congress under oath. Declining to intervene on behalf of prediction market platforms and clarifying by rule that enumerated activities are contrary to the public interest would restore confidence that the CFTC is enforcing the law Congress enacted—not reshaping it through post-hoc policy shifts,” continued the Senators.
This letter is signed by Senators Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD.), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Andy Kim (D-NJ), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Patty Murray (D-WA), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Jack Reed (D-RI), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Tina Smith (D-MN), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Ron Wyden (D-OR), and Maria Cantwell (D-WA).
Full text of the letter here.
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