Case 1:25-cv-12578-RGS Document 41-1 Filed 10/16/25 Page 6 of 24
The CEA does not supersede IGRA or limit the jurisdiction of Tribes or the NIGC on Indian lands. Rather, the CEA’s savings clause expressly reserves the authority of the NIGC and Tribal gaming authorities over gaming on Indian lands, in accordance with IGRA. 2. The CFTC expressly prohibits Robinhood’s sports event contracts Robinhood’s sports event contracts are categorically prohibited by the CFTC as contrary to the public interest. See 17 C.F.R. § 40.11(a)(1). Robinhood is not authorized to offer such contracts under the CEA and its sports event contracts are therefore invalid and fall beyond the scope of the CFTC’s “exclusive” jurisdiction. The Special Rule grants the CFTC discretion to determine whether event contracts are “contrary to the public interest” if they involve gaming or unlawful activity under federal or state law. 7 U.S.C. § 7a-2(c)(5)(C)(i). When the CFTC makes such a determination, the CEA expressly prohibits those contracts. Id. § 7a-2(c)(5)(C)(ii). Here, the CFTC made such a determination when it promulgated 17 C.F.R. § 40.11(a)(1), wherein it categorically prohibited event contracts that “involve[], relate[] to, or reference[] … gaming, or an activity that is unlawful under any State or Federal law.” 3 The CFTC acted consistently with Congress’s intent that the Special Rule prevent the usage of event contracts “to enable gambling,” particularly sports betting. In fact, as Senator Lincoln—one of the principal architects of the Special Rule—explained: 3 Robinhood assumes that the CFTC regulations entail a two-step process, whereby the event contract must first involve one of the prohibited activities under § 40.11(a)(1) and then the CFTC must separately conduct a 90-day review under § 40.11(c) to determine whether the contract is contrary to the public interest. See ECF No. 11 at 5. Not so. Instead, § 40.11(a)(1) imposes a categorical prohibition on event contracts involving gaming or unlawful activity. There is no two-step review process needed because the CFTC has already determined that such event contracts are contrary to the public interest. 6
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