44 state attorneys general oppose CFTC's proposed event contract rule
A coalition of 44 state attorneys general formally opposed the Commodity Futures Trading Commission's proposed rule on event contracts, published July 31, 2026. The coalition argues the agency is exceeding its authority. No further details on the coalition's composition or the CFTC's response were available. The opposition adds to the growing conflict between state regulators and federally registered prediction market platforms over jurisdiction.
The state coalition frames the CFTC rule as an overreach, directly challenging the federal shield that platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket built their sports contracts on. For operators, this means the gap between CFTC registration and state acceptance keeps widening: the federal license says they can list, but 44 top state law officers say the CFTC lacked authority to approve it. The platforms now face parallel fights on two fronts.
A weakened or withdrawn rule would leave them without even a contested federal preemption argument. Each new state suit tests whether CFTC registration holds any weight in court. Kalshi's Second Circuit preemption appeal now carries the weight of restoring a unified federal floor before more states replicate this coalition's playbook. Polymarket holds identical CFTC registration, so identical exposure. Both platforms must budget for state-by-state litigation rather than one compliance roadmap.