Case 2:25-cv-00978-APG-BNW Document 75 Filed 09/15/25 Page 10 of 20
For these reasons, Crypto.com’s sports event contracts are not lawful transactions under the
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exclusive jurisdiction of the CFTC. Therefore, the CEA does not preempt or otherwise conflict
with IGRA, and IGRA governs all sports event contracts offered on Indian lands.
3)
Crypto.com’s sports event contracts do not qualify as “swaps” or swaps based on “excluded commodities”
Crypto.com’s sports event contracts do not qualify as “swaps” or swaps based on “excluded
commodities” and, therefore, are not subject to the CFTC’s exclusive jurisdiction. Crypto.com
presumes to offer its sports event contracts as “swaps” that are based on “excluded commodities.”
Under the CEA, a “swap” is defined in relevant part as:
[A]ny agreement, contract, or transaction … that provides for any purchase, sale, payment, or delivery … that is dependent on the occurrence, nonoccurrence, or the extent of the occurrence of an event or contingency associated with a potential financial, economic, or commercial consequence.
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7 U.S.C. § 1a(47)(A)(ii). Similarly, an “excluded commodity” means, among other things, “an
occurrence, extent of an occurrence, or contingency … that is—(I) beyond the control of the
parties to the relevant contract, agreement, or transaction; and (II) associated with a financial,
commercial, or economic consequence.” Id. § 1a(19)(iv).
Crypto.com’s sports event contracts do not meet these definitions because they are not
dependent on the occurrence or nonoccurrence of a sports event—i.e., whether the sports event
occurs 8 —but rather on the outcome of the sports event—i.e., which team wins. 9 And although the parties to such contracts presumably have no direct control over which team wins, the contracts fail
the second requirement because any “financial, commercial, or economic consequence” that may
8 An example of what could arguably be a valid “sports event contract” would be: If bad weather is threatening to cause the cancellation of a football game, the owner of the stadium could purchase an event contract that the team will not play their game. This would allow the stadium owner to hedge against the loss of revenue in the event the football game does not occur. This type of contract is not dependent on the outcome of the game, but rather on the occurrence or nonoccurrence of the game. 9 Ostensibly, Crypto.com presumes that the act of a particular team winning a sports game is the “event” underlying its sports event contracts—not so. The “events” at the heart of valid sports event contracts are the sports games themselves.
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