A federal appeals court has rejected an attempt by U.S. financial regulators to block derivatives trading platform Kalshi from offering contracts that let people make speculative bets on the outcome of U.S. elections.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on Oct. 2 denied an emergency motion for a stay pending appeal filed by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The CFTC had sought to halt a district court’s decision that allowed Kalshi to offer financial market instruments enabling Americans to legally bet on elections in a regulated marketplace.
Circuit Judge Patricia Millett, writing for the three-judge panel, said the CFTC had not demonstrated sufficient evidence that the contracts would cause irreparable harm to the public or undermine the integrity of U.S. elections while the CFTC’s appeal is heard….