CFTC Proposes Ban on War, Assassination Prediction Bets

Second, the regulator argued that allowing such bets could incentivize violence. "It is contrary to the public interest to profit from the potential assassination of a human being," the proposal states. The CFTC added that event contracts involving terrorism or war "could potentially encourage such activity, because there is a potential for individuals to act in order to receive payout under the event contracts, resulting in significant risk of harm to human life and property."

The proposal lands in the middle of a jurisdictional fight over who regulates prediction markets. President Donald Trump said in a social media post last month that the CFTC must retain exclusive authority over the industry and that the federal government would protect it.

The CFTC in April sued Arizona, Connecticut, and Illinois after those states took actions the regulator said intruded on its jurisdiction. Weeks later, the commission sued New York over its attempt to apply state gambling laws to CFTC-regulated contract markets.

The comment period on the new proposal runs 60 days after publication in the Federal Register.