CFTC sends two event contract rules to White House for review

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission submitted two rule proposals to the Office of Management and Budget on September 29, formally advancing its bid to classify event contracts as swaps under the Commodity Exchange Act and exclude casino-style gambling products from that definition.

One proposal would extend the regulatory definition of swaps to cover event contracts traded on platforms including Kalshi, Polymarket, Crypto.com and Robinhood. The second, structured as an interim final rule, would take immediate effect and explicitly bar casino-style gambling products from qualifying as swaps. OMB review is typically the final step before rules proceed to public comment.

CFTC Chairman Mike Selig has argued the agency holds sole federal jurisdiction over these products. The Sixth Circuit ruled in August that Kalshi's sports-tied contracts are not swaps and fall under state gambling law — a direct contradiction of the position these proposals advance. If the rules survive legal challenge, they would undermine the states' central argument in a wide array of pending lawsuits against Kalshi and similar platforms.