Legal challenges by state governments against certain aspects of prediction markets like Polymarket and Kalshi have received a sharp rebuke from U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chairman Mike Selig, who argues that his federal agency has jurisdiction, not the states.
“To those seeking to challenge our authority in this space, let me be clear: We will see you in court,” Selig said in a video statement posted Tuesday on the social media site
“The CFTC has regulated these markets for more than two decades,” he said. “They provide useful functions for society by allowing ordinary Americans to hedge business risks such as temperature increases and energy price increases; they also serve as an important check on our media and information flows.”
Selig did not mention sports betting in his list of examples, although that is where many of the legal disputes center. States have gone after event contracting platforms with accusations of violating state-level sports betting laws, such as in Nevada, Massachusetts and New York. A federal judge in Nevada concluded in November that state authorities were right and that the contracts do not properly fall under the CFTC’s jurisdiction, although that ruling is under appeal.
Coinbase, the leading US crypto exchange, has also tried to enter the prediction markets sector and is currently suing Connecticut, Illinois and Michigan over those states’ attempts to regulate sports betting as gaming.
That’s the scenario Selig is considering by declaring “exclusive jurisdiction over these derivatives markets.” But until President Donald Trump’s return to Washington, the agency had fought these companies and some of their contracts, alleging that the sites’ political betting was illegal and “contrary to the public interest.” But the courts had gone against the CFTC in its legal fight with Kalshi, and when the Trump administration overhauled the agency’s leadership, the fight was abandoned.
In early 2025, the president’s son, Don Trump Jr., joined Kalshi as a strategic advisor. In August, he joined Polymarket’s advisory board.
In October, Trump Media & Technology Group (DJT), owner of President Donald Trump’s social platform Truth Social, said it was getting into the prediction markets business.
Within weeks of his Senate confirmation, Trump’s nominee, Selig, said his agency was realigning its approach to market forecasting and would pursue new policies on that front. He said the CFTC “will advance new rulemaking based on a rational and consistent interpretation of the Commodity Exchange Act that promotes responsible innovation in our derivatives markets consistent with Congressional intent.”
In the hours after Selig’s statement Tuesday, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox responded with his own challenge.
“Mike, I appreciate you trying this seriously, but I don’t recall the CFTC having authority over the ‘derivatives market’ for LeBron James rebounds,” he wrote in a response on
While Utah has not been among the states leading legal challenges against prediction markets, there is a legislative effort there seeking to target certain sports contracts. Cox advised Selig that he would use all his powers to “beat you in court.”
And U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee, argued that Selig is undermining state powers.
“President Trump’s CFTC chairman is seeking to strip states of their authority to regulate gambling within their borders and cripple their ability to protect Americans from being scammed,” he said in a statement. “The CFTC should be focused on ensuring our derivatives markets don’t blow up the economy again, not on helping corrupt politicians profit.”
UPDATE (February 17, 2026, 17:59 UTC): Adds response from the governor of Utah.
UPDATE (February 17, 2026, 21:30 UTC): Adds statement from Senator Warren.
