WASHINGTON, D.C.— Dennis Kelleher, Co-founder, President, and CEO, issued the following statement welcoming Members of Congress as well as hundreds of advocacy groups, experts, and citizens in opposing KalshiEX, LLC’s (Kalshi) attempt to get the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) to legalize gambling on U.S. elections. Congressman John Sarbanes and Jamie Raskin filed a comment letter opposing Kalshi as did Common Cause and Public Citizen, which also alerted their members, many of whom filed oppositions as well. In addition to the letter filed by Better Markets, the organization also led a joint letter that included Public Citizen, End Citizens United, Americans for Financial Reform, Take on Wall Street, and prominent experts like Law Professor Jennifer Taub.
“Members of Congress, democracy and elections advocacy organizations, and numerous experts and citizens are standing together against Kalshi’s attempt to turn our commodity markets and our democracy into a casino with bets of up to $100 million dollars (as explained here). More than 1,300 comments have been filed so far with the CFTC on Kalshi’s proposal and nearly all of them ask the CFTC to reject it. That represents a more than a 600% increase in comments from last year, when Kalshi’s previous similar proposal was before the CFTC. While Kalshi is trying to sneak its radical and dangerous gambling proposal through the backdoor of the CFTC, it’s clear that when the plan to allow gambling on elections becomes known, elected officials, organizations, experts, and citizens throughout the country will unify against betting on our elections.
“Among the many points made in the joint letter is that allowing gambling on elections would create very powerful incentives for bad actors, or even those just looking to make a quick buck, to interfere with our elections and try to sway voters outside of the democratic process. When there are $100 million bets and potentially billions if not tens of billions of dollars at stake, election interference is almost guaranteed. False and misleading AI deepfake videos are already being used to deceive voters and affect elections. Allowing betting on elections will likely lead to an epidemic of deepfakes and similar AI-enabled misconduct.
“America’s democracy, once strong and resilient, now stands on a precipice, teetering under the weight of doubt and uncertainty fed by disinformation campaigns and outright lies. The integrity and validity of our elections, the very cornerstone of our democratic process, are being called into question by an increasing number of Americans. The chilling assault on the Capitol on January 6, 2021, represents the pinnacle of this crisis, but it is far from being an isolated incident. Quietly, beneath the glare of the national spotlight, there are countless other lesser-known instances across the country that erode our citizens’ trust in our electoral system and, ultimately, democracy itself.
“That is why Better Markets welcomes all those opposing this dangerous sneaky effort to legalize and unleash gambling on our elections. The signatories of the joint letter stand strongly against Kalshi’s proposal and, with the many others, urge the CFTC to reject it.”
You can find the joint letter here.
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Better Markets is a non-profit, non-partisan, and independent organization founded to promote the public interest in the financial markets, support the financial reform of Wall Street and make our financial system work for all Americans again. Better Markets works with allies—including many in finance—to promote pro-market, pro-business and pro-growth policies that help build a stronger, safer financial system that protects and promotes Americans’ jobs, savings, retirements and more. To learn more, visit www.bettermarkets.org.
