CFTC sues Minnesota, opposing its comprehensive ban on prediction markets

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the Department of Justice have sued the state of Minnesota and Governor Tim Walz, opposing the state's newly signed prediction market ban. The new Minnesota law will take effect on August 1, prohibiting users from participating in prediction market trading related to outcomes such as sports, weather, company valuations, and government events. The CFTC stated in the lawsuit that this is the first state-level law in the U.S. that explicitly and comprehensively bans prediction markets. The CFTC and the Department of Justice believe that the relevant products fall under federally regulated derivatives and "swap" contracts, which should be exclusively regulated by the CFTC, and that the state government has no authority to classify them as illegal gambling or to prohibit them. This lawsuit further intensifies the jurisdictional conflict between federal regulators and state gaming regulatory agencies. Previously, the CFTC had sued states like Illinois, Arizona, and Connecticut, opposing their attempts to shut down prediction market platforms such as Kalshi and Polymarket.