Washington, D.C. Last Friday, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) said it wants to stop all betting on political issues. This is a major development in the fight between trading bosses and sites that allow bets on election winners or new rules.

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• The U.S. Rules Team (CFTC) wants to stop people from betting on who wins in politics to keep voting special.
• They don’t want people in the U.S. to use websites that let them bet on politics or big decisions.
• Everyone has 60 days to share their thoughts about this idea before it becomes an official rule.

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U.S. Regulator Seeks to Prohibit Political Event Betting

The CFTC looks after the trading market in the U.S. and has been arguing with companies that let people bet on the outcomes of elections or other big decisions. They want to make a new rule that says betting on politics is bad for the public and should not be allowed, kind of like how betting on wars, terrorism, and doing really bad things is not allowed.

The people at the CFTC say they’re not supposed to watch over betting games, so they can’t make sure everything is fair and right in these kinds of bets. Their new rule would keep people in the U.S. from using platforms that let them bet on these things.

Websites like PredictIt and Polymarket, where people can bet on who will win an election, who will win an award, or which sports team will win, have become really popular. However, if this new rule is implemented, companies in the U.S. won’t be able to let people make these bets.

CFTC Chairman Rostin Behnam said they want to protect how important it is for Americans to take part in voting without turning it into something people bet on.

Now, there’s going to be a 60-day period during which people can say what they think about this idea before it becomes a real rule. Some people at the meeting where they discussed this didn’t like the idea. They thought it was too much and said the CFTC needed someone from outside to check if they were doing things right.

Many people have discussed the decision. Brian Quintenz, who used to work at the CFTC and now helps a company that wants to let people bet on elections, said this was a bad move. He thinks this will make people go to places outside the U.S. where the rules aren’t as strict, which could be risky.

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