CFTC Criticizes Utah's Criminal Prosecution of Kalshi, Calling It an 'Intimidation Tactic'

TechFlow, Oct. 30 — According to media reports including The Defiant and Front Office Sports, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) responded to Utah's criminal prosecution of prediction market Kalshi, saying Utah Attorney General Derek Brown 'resorted to a shameful intimidation tactic to try to suppress an exchange registered with the CFTC,' and stated it would firmly defend its exclusive jurisdiction over the relevant markets.

Utah filed criminal charges on Oct. 28 local time against KalshiEX and co-founders Tarek Mansour and Luana Lopes Lara, with 14 counts each, 13 of which are felonies, after a state investigator placed 12 sports bets on the platform in September. Kalshi called the move an 'outrageous overreach.'

Earlier, the CFTC had sued Utah on Oct. 26, making it the 10th state it has sued.

Source: TechFlow