Pappas demands Comer subpoena prediction markets; Oversight chair confirms probe active
Rep. Chris Pappas (D-NH) called on House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer (R-KY) to subpoena prediction markets as part of a corruption and insider-trading probe, with Comer confirming an investigation is already underway and that subpoenas may follow. The push, which intensified around May 11-13, centers on suspicious trades tied to the Iran conflict and broader concerns about corruption on event-contract platforms. The letter came the same day the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) again backed prediction market operators in state court. No specific platforms were named in the subpoena requests. Separately, the industry saw Polymarket trading volume decline in April, while Rothera self-certified its first contracts including baseball event contracts.
Comer's confirmation that subpoenas 'may follow' puts every DCM-registered platform — starting with Kalshi and the CFTC-backed defendants in active state litigation — on notice that congressional document demands could land within weeks, potentially forcing disclosure of user-trade data ahead of any court-ordered discovery.