CFTC Chair Selig says agency is modernizing Rule 40.11 for event contracts
CFTC Chair Mike Selig wrote in a June 10 op-ed that the agency is modernizing Rule 40.11 to advance responsible financial innovation in event contracts. Selig argued that effective safeguards require clarity, predictability, and transparency in how rules are applied, positioning the update as part of strengthening US leadership in financial innovation. A separate industry-focused report on June 11 characterized the proposal as favorable to prediction markets, noting it would place few limits on sports betting contracts. The modernization effort comes as the CFTC is simultaneously proposing broader rules for sports and terrorism event contracts and litigating against state-level enforcement actions.
Selig's framing as modernization rather than restriction signals that the final rule may preserve the broadest possible scope for sports event contracts. Kalshi and Polymarket can now anchor their comment letters to a chairman-authored narrative, raising the cost for commissioners who favor narrower limits.
Selig's op-ed joins a sequence of three CFTC actions on event contracts in under a day — proposed rules on sports and terrorism contracts, the ProphetX endorsement, and now this framing — with the agency simultaneously suing Rhode Island and Minnesota to block state enforcement.