ATLANTIC CITY, New Jersey — With legal gambling booming in the United States, some things remain taboo, including betting on the outcome of US elections.
But that could change.
A federal judge in Washington has overturned a decision by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission that prohibited a company from offering bets on the outcome of the congressional elections.
Last Friday, U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb ruled in favor of New York resident Kalshi, but she did not elaborate on her reasons.
The judge paused the case until after a scheduled hearing on Thursday, when the court is expected to lay out its reasons for its decision. It could also rule on the agency’s request to delay the case for two weeks.
“The Commission lost fair and square on the basis of the law,” Kalshi wrote in a court filing. “It should not be allowed to snatch a procedural victory from the jaws of defeat by stalling for time” until the Congressional elections take place this fall.
“As the election approaches, Kalshi and the public deserve access to the contracts the CFTC has been blocking for too long,” the company wrote.
No jurisdiction in the US has allowed gambling on elections, and several states explicitly prohibit it.
But such bets are also easily accessible to gamblers using foreign websites; in Europe, betting on elections is a widespread practice.
In a September 2023 decision, the Kalshi Commission said it could not make yes-or-no predictions about which party would gain control of the House and Senate. The commission ruled that this was an illegal gambling activity that was contrary to the public interest.
Such bets “could potentially be used in ways that would negatively impact election integrity or the perception of election integrity – for example, by creating financial incentives to vote for particular candidates,” the agency wrote.
Kalshi officials did not respond to requests for comment Tuesday and Wednesday. A lawyer representing them in the case referred an inquiry back to the company. Lawyers representing the commission also did not respond to a message seeking comment.
If the judge had not agreed to adjourn the case until at least Thursday, Kalshi would have been able to list his markets in Congress again and accept money from customers.
It was not immediately clear whether the company or others would offer bets on other elections, including the presidential election.
In 2020, several major bookmakers in the country told The Associated Press they would happily accept bets on the U.S. presidential election if it were legal.
Vice President Kamala Harris was considered the slight favorite to win the election on many European bookmakers’ websites on Wednesday, with her odds of winning being 54% to 55% after her performance in Tuesday night’s debate.
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