{"id":32834,"date":"2026-06-24T04:41:30","date_gmt":"2026-06-24T04:41:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/cftc-fires-back-after-kentucky-targets-polymarket-kalshi\/"},"modified":"2026-06-24T04:41:45","modified_gmt":"2026-06-24T04:41:45","slug":"cftc-fires-back-after-kentucky-targets-polymarket-kalshi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/cftc-fires-back-after-kentucky-targets-polymarket-kalshi\/","title":{"rendered":"CFTC fires back after Kentucky targets Polymarket, Kalshi"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div class=\"post-detail__content blocks\">\n<p class=\"is-style-lead\">The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has sued Kentucky in federal court, seeking to stop the state from enforcing gaming laws against federally regulated prediction market operators.\u00a0<\/p>\n<div id=\"cn-block-summary-block_6a59bf23a76d03057d9947d23af37ff0\" class=\"cn-block-summary\">\n<div class=\"cn-block-summary__nav tabs\">\n        <span class=\"tabs__item is-selected\">Summary<\/span>\n    <\/div>\n<div class=\"cn-block-summary__content\">\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Kentucky became the ninth state facing CFTC action over prediction market oversight and sports contracts.<\/li>\n<li>The regulator says event contracts are swaps under federal law, not state-regulated gambling products locally.<\/li>\n<li>Kentucky\u2019s 14.25% tax adds a new front to the broader prediction market court fight nationwide.<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><!-- .cn-block-summary --><\/p>\n<p>The case names Kentucky Governor Andrew Beshear, Attorney General Russell Coleman, Department of Revenue Commissioner Thomas B. Miller, and the Kentucky Horse Racing and Gaming Corporation as defendants.<\/p>\n<p>The CFTC <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cftc.gov\/PressRoom\/PressReleases\/9260-26\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">says<\/a> Kentucky\u2019s actions conflict with the Commodity Exchange Act, which gives the regulator authority over futures, options, and swaps traded on federally regulated exchanges.\u00a0<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>\u201cKentucky is the latest state attempting to shut down federally-regulated event contracts,\u201d said CFTC Chair Michael Selig.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>The agency asked the court for declaratory and injunctive relief. Kentucky says sports-linked contracts need state oversight.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-x wp-block-embed-x\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">As I\u2019ve consistently pledged, the <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/CFTC?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@CFTC<\/a> is firmly committed to maintaining its exclusive jurisdiction over prediction markets, and today\u2019s lawsuit against Kentucky is yet another example of the Commission protecting its federal authority.<\/p>\n<p>More below\u2b07\ufe0f <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/u1zwCP0Mb6\">https:\/\/t.co\/u1zwCP0Mb6<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Mike Selig (@ChairmanSelig) <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/ChairmanSelig\/status\/2069520072280867052?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">June 23, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>    <!-- .cn-block-related-link --><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>State action targets platforms<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Kentucky sued Kalshi, Polymarket, and partners tied to Coinbase, Robinhood, and Webull on June 17. The state said the companies offered sports event contracts without a Kentucky gaming license and without following state rules. It also argued that the products fall under the state\u2019s definition of sports wagering.<\/p>\n<p>The CFTC rejected that view in its complaint. It said Kalshi and Polymarket are designated contract markets under federal oversight. It also said Coinbase, Robinhood, and Webull are registered futures commission merchants that can offer event contracts through partnerships with regulated exchanges.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Moreover, the regulator described the targeted contracts as swaps under federal commodities law. Kentucky also accused the platforms of offering few or no resources for users who may need gambling help.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Tax dispute adds another front<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>The lawsuit also challenges Kentucky\u2019s new 14.25% excise tax on prediction market transaction fees and contract notional value. The CFTC said the tax applies to contracts traded in Kentucky or by Kentucky residents.\u00a0<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>\u201cThis tax essentially makes it impossible for prediction markets to operate in Kentucky.\u201d the agency said in the complaint.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>In a recent update, crypto.news covered Kentucky\u2019s earlier fight with prediction market firms over that tax. A coalition that included Kalshi, Crypto.com, and Polymarket sued the state, saying the tax targets federally regulated markets and treats prediction platforms differently from some gaming businesses. That tax case remains separate from Kentucky\u2019s gambling complaints. The new CFTC case now puts both state enforcement and state taxation before federal courts.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Wider court fight continues<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Kentucky is now the ninth state in the CFTC\u2019s prediction market jurisdiction fight. As crypto.news reported, New Mexico became the eighth state earlier this month after the CFTC sued to block state gaming laws from reaching Kalshi\u2019s sports contracts. Rhode Island, Wisconsin, Minnesota, New York, Arizona, Connecticut, and Illinois have also been part of the regulator\u2019s legal push.<\/p>\n<p>The dispute centers on whether sports-related event contracts fall under federal derivatives law or state gambling law. States argue that the products look like sports betting and need local licenses, consumer checks, and gambling safeguards. Prediction market firms and the CFTC say regulated exchanges already sit under a federal system.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>President Donald Trump has <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/truthsocial.com\/@realDonaldTrump\/116642964849373081\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">backed<\/a> CFTC control over prediction markets, calling the issue \u201ccritically important.\u201d His son, Donald Trump Jr., has invested in Polymarket and advises Kalshi.<\/p>\n<p>The sector has continued to draw large firms even as court fights grow. Previously, crypto.news explored Meta\u2019s reported work on Arena, a points-based prediction market app. That report followed growing interest from firms such as Charles Schwab, Cboe, Kalshi, and Polymarket.<\/p>\n<p>    <!-- .cn-block-related-link --><\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has sued Kentucky in federal court, seeking to stop the state from enforcing gaming laws against federally regulated prediction market operators.\u00a0 Summary Kentucky became the&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":30677,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-32834","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cryptocurrency"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32834","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32834"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32834\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32835,"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32834\/revisions\/32835"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30677"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32834"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32834"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32834"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}