A top Wall Street regulator has proposed banning election betting on US derivatives markets, with officials warning the activity poses a threat to the sanctity of US elections.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission, charged with regulating large and complex derivatives markets, voted 3-2 Friday to issue a new proposed rule banning so-called event-driven contracts that actually act like betting on political elections. The bill would also ban contracts tied to sporting events and even award ceremonies like the Oscars.
And from the horse’s mouth:
“Contracts involving political events ultimately trivialize and degrade the integrity of the unique American experience of participating in the democratic electoral process,” said CFTC Chairman Rostin Behnam. “Allowing these contracts would push the CFTC, a financial markets regulator, into a position far beyond its mandate and expertise in Congress. To be frank, such contracts would place the CFTC in the role of election cop.”
Behnam was joined in supporting the proposal by fellow Democratic commissioners Kristin Johnson and Christy Goldsmith Romero.
Here is the full Politico article. How can you entrust things to such people? What else do they want to stop us from doing? Is it so hard for them to imagine a world where the election forecasts found on Predictit – among other sources – simply continue and are perfectly fine, as they have for years?
