CFTC chair vows to sue states that regulate prediction markets as gambling

CFTC Chair Mike Selig has vowed to file lawsuits against any state that attempts to regulate prediction markets under its own gambling laws. The pledge, delivered on April 28, signals a sharp escalation in the federal-state conflict over which regulatory framework applies to event-contract platforms. The CFTC is asserting federal preemption over prediction market regulation, pushing back against state-level efforts to classify these platforms under gambling statutes. The statement marks the commission's most aggressive posture yet in defending its jurisdiction over the growing prediction markets industry.