Case: 3:25-cv-00698 Document #: 1 Filed: 08/20/25 Page 21 of 47
amendment] will be of significant benefit to the Commission and its staff, since, in the Commission’s experience, a single § 40.11(c) review is resource-intensive and consumes hundreds of hours of staff time.” Id . The rule-amendments were never finalized. 77. In September 2024, the U.S. District Court for the District of D.C. sided with Kalshi, ruling that political event contracts do not involve illegal gaming. Throughout the litigation process, Kalshi repeatedly argued to the court that, “Congress did not want sports betting to be conducted on derivatives markets” and “Congress sought to prevent exchanges from facilitating casino-style or sports gambling.” Kalshi told the court that, “[c]ontracts that ‘serve[] no commercial purpose at all’ may therefore not deserve to be traded on a regulated exchange . . . . And, at least in general, contracts relating to games—again, activities conducted for diversion or amusement—are unlikely to serve any ‘commercial or hedging interest.’” 78. On January 7, 2025, CFTC Chairman, Rostin Behnam, announced that he would step down from the position of Chairman on January 20, 2025, and that Benham’s last day at the Commission would be February 7, 2025. Public Statements & Remarks, Chairman Rostin Behnam Announces Departure from CFTC (January 7, 2025). 6 79. Having won the right to list political event contracts by explaining how those contracts were different than sports betting, Kalshi reversed course. 80. On January 22, 2025, just over a week after the incoming President’s son, Donald Trump, Jr. announced that he was joining Kalshi as a strategic adviser, 7 Kalshi filed a self-certification to trade sports event contracts, which allowed buyers to predict the winner of a sport event title related to American sports leagues, and
6 https://www.cftc.gov/PressRoom/SpeechesTestimony/behnamstatement010725. 7 https://thehill.com/business/5082357-trump-jr-joins-kalshi-prediction-market/.
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