In an email sent to its clients on Wednesday, Oct. 2, Interactive Brokers announced that it would offer election contracts.
“Pending regulatory acceptance, IBKR plans to launch trading in election contracts on Thursday, October 3, 2024 at 5:15 pm ET,” the brokerage firm wrote.
Interactive Brokers plans to offer the following event markets:
- Will Kamala Harris win the 2024 presidential election?
- Will the Democratic Party win a majority in the United States Senate during the 2024 general election?
- Will the Democratic Party win a majority in the United States House of Representatives during the 2024 general election?
- Specific Senate Race Contracts
Interactive Broker’s announcement came on the same day that the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals lifted the stay preventing Kalshi from offering its election markets. Kalshi’s congressional control markets went live within hours of the Circuit Court’s decision.
After the D.C. District Court ruled in favor of Kalshi on Sept. 12, the Wall Street Journal reported that Interactive Brokers, a publicly traded company (NYSE:IBKR), planned to offer election markets through its event contract platform, ForecastEx.
Hedging and election betting
Event contract platforms like Kalshi and ForecastEx allow investors to hedge against portfolio risks associated with political outcomes. Republicans and Democrats offer different economic plans, so the presidential race and the party that controls each chamber of Congress is crucial information.
ForecastEx has been doing its own hedging. An Interactive Brokers podcast episode from Sept. 30 covered the U.S. election’s impact on financial markets. The company has remained prepared to offer election betting since the CFTC paused Kalshi’s congressional control markets in September.
With election markets coming so soon after the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision, Interactive Brokers appears confident that the ruling marks the CFTC’s final attempt to block election markets from opening during the 2024 presidential race.
