Mon Sep 16 15:50:17 UTC 2024: ## Federal Agency Warns Election Betting Poses Grave Risk to U.S. Election Integrity
**ATLANTIC CITY, N.J.** – The Commodities and Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is urging a federal appeals court to block a startup company from offering bets on the outcome of the upcoming U.S. congressional elections. The agency argues that allowing such bets could lead to manipulation and undermine public confidence in the integrity of elections.
Kalshi, a New York-based company, briefly offered bets on the elections last Friday before a federal appeals court halted the practice. The CFTC argues that the potential for misinformation and collusion in these betting markets is a serious threat.
The agency cites examples of manipulation on other unregulated platforms, including a fake poll claiming Kid Rock was leading Michigan Senator Debbie Stabenow, which artificially shifted the odds in the senator’s reelection market. The CFTC also points to a 2012 case involving a trader who bet millions on Mitt Romney to make the election appear closer than it was.
“Manipulation has happened, and is likely to recur,” the commission wrote in a legal brief.
Kalshi, however, argues that its regulated platform offers a safer alternative to unregulated betting markets. The company states that it sought out regulatory oversight and that banning its platform would only drive election betting activity to unregulated, less transparent platforms.
The CFTC counters this argument, saying that allowing election betting even with regulation is “a grave threat to election integrity.”
The appeals court is scheduled to hear arguments on the matter on Thursday. The outcome of this case could have significant implications for the future of election betting in the United States.
First Piper 