CFTC Swaps Its Story: Tries to Slam Sports Bets Into Existing Swaps Rule 🧾

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission issued one rule and proposed another Friday in an effort to formally classify prediction-market event contracts as "swaps," reinforcing the agency's claim to sole jurisdiction over products traded on platforms including Kalshi and Polymarket. The "interim final" rule took immediate effect while remaining open to public comment, and the companion proposal would explicitly fold "event contracts, including those based on sports, politics, cultural, and weather-related events" into the existing swaps framework under CFTC oversight. The interim rule excludes casino-style wagers from the swaps definition, drawing a line between traditional gambling and exchange-traded contracts. Chairman Mike Selig, who has championed the agency's broad reading of its authority, will be able to point to the formal rulemaking should the dispute reach the U.S. Supreme Court, where several states and former federal officials have already filed briefs contesting the CFTC's position. Several states are embroiled in lawsuits with Kalshi and the CFTC over whether event contracts fall under derivatives regulation or state gambling laws, and federal district courts have issued rulings against the agency in the dispute. The proposed rule carries a 30-day public comment period.