CFTC Sues Arkansas to Block State Case Against Kalshi Event Contracts
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced on November 13 that it has filed a lawsuit against the State of Arkansas and Attorney General Tim Griffin to block the state's attempts to halt event-contract trading and to impose up to hundreds of millions of dollars in civil penalties on CFTC-registered exchanges. The complaint was docketed on November 12 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas as Case 4:26-cv-01255-BSM.
The dispute began with a state enforcement action. Arkansas is bringing a civil enforcement case in state court against Kalshi, a CFTC-designated contract market. Attorney General Tim Griffin sued Kalshi on November 4 in the Circuit Court of Independence County, calling its operations illegal gambling in Arkansas and seeking to stop its event-contract trading.
In its complaint, the CFTC argues that the event contracts targeted by Arkansas are swaps under the Commodity Exchange Act, that the exchanges offering them, including Kalshi, are CFTC-regulated designated contract markets, and that Arkansas's efforts to obstruct CFTC-registered exchanges operating lawfully under the Act are preempted by federal law. The commission seeks preliminary and permanent injunctive relief and a declaratory judgment.
"As prediction markets continue to prove their value in being useful for risk management and providing the public with valuable information about the future, Arkansas seeks to shut down event contracts ranging from sports and politics to other important world events," said Chairman Michael S. Selig. "The CFTC will continue to defend its sole jurisdiction over these federally regulated markets as granted by Congress under the Commodity Exchange Act, and the Commission will not let state interference thwart its regulatory efforts and destroy federally regulated markets."
Arkansas is the 11th state the CFTC has sued over event-contract jurisdiction, and the agency has also filed friend-of-the-court briefs in four federal appeals courts and one state supreme court in similar disputes. As of November 13, no court had publicly granted the requested injunction, and the state's case against Kalshi is not automatically stayed by the federal filing.
(Source: U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission)
Source: U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：美国商品期货交易委员会（CFTC）位于华盛顿的总部大楼入口，墙上为委员会徽章。ajay_suresh 摄，CC BY 4.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: Entrance of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) headquarters in Washington, with the commission's seal. By ajay_suresh, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
