of online gambling as it draws teenagers, poses added risks to problem gambling, and heightens risks of addiction, mental health concerns, and personal financial and other concerns. Prediction markets sidestep these debates and ignoring the consequences.
CONCLUSION It is no coincidence that the prediction market corporations selected the CFTC as the financial regulatory agency to push out their self-certified self-regulated online gambling platforms. The prediction markets recognized regulatory weakness at the CFTC, and they have actively exploited the agency’s lack of capacity or lack of will to enforce its regulations. Complete inaction by the CFTC proves this point. Prediction markets have offered sports betting for 11 months now. Just weeks ago, the CFTC issued a statement that the agency “has not, to date, made a determination regarding whether” these contracts involve a prohibited activity. No legitimate federal regulatory agency would publicly admit that it has failed to even question activity that blatantly violates the law and regulations directly under its charge. The prediction market platforms are counting on continued inaction from the CFTC. They will continue to push the limits of and blur the lines between event contracts and gambling. Sports betting is only the beginning. We respectfully urge this Committee and Congress to put a stop to this illegal activity by amending the CEA to reinforce the existing prohibition against casino gambling in general and sports betting in particular.
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