Schiff accuses CFTC Chair Selig of 'duplicitous' flip-flop on sports prediction markets
Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) accused CFTC Chair Michael Selig of 'duplicitous' behavior during a Brookings interview with Aaron Klein, charging him with contradictory statements on whether regulated prediction markets can offer sports event contracts. The clash comes as Selig has faced repeated congressional scrutiny over the issue, including a May 7 appearance before the House Committee on Agriculture where he testified that crypto and prediction markets are changing the market abuse playbook. Selig also discussed prediction market lawsuits on CNBC's 'Money Movers' on May 4. The dispute centers on the same contested product category that has drawn CFTC scrutiny of platforms including Kalshi, with Schiff describing prediction markets as 'pretty indistinguishable from gaming and sports betting.'
Puts Selig in a vice between congressional Democrats pushing to block sports contracts and his own agency's prior approvals of event contracts on platforms like Kalshi, raising the risk of Capitol Hill intervention before the CFTC finishes its rulemaking.