The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has filed a lawsuit against the state of Minnesota after Governor Tim Walz signed a law to ban prediction markets, despite the...
CFTC files lawsuit against New York over prediction markets
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has filed a lawsuit against New York state in an effort to block it from applying gambling laws to federally regulated prediction markets.
The complaint was filed on April 24, 2026, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, in which the commission argued that it has exclusive federal authority over prediction markets and has asked the court to grant a permanent injunction against the state’s enforcement action.
The lawsuit comes after New York’s Attorney General sued Coinbase and Gemini over illegal gambling connected to their prediction platforms, as the case aims to decide whether they are gambling or financial trading.
The Chairman of the CFTC, Michael Selig, commented:
“CFTC-registered exchanges have faced an onslaught of state lawsuits seeking to limit Americans’ access to event contracts and undermine the CFTC’s sole regulatory jurisdiction over prediction markets. New York is the latest state to ignore federal law and decades of precedent by seeking to enforce state gambling laws against CFTC-registered exchanges. As I’ve said before, the CFTC will not allow overzealous state governments to undermine the agency’s longstanding authority over these markets.”
New York’s argument is also connected to the fact that the state requires users to be 21 and over to take part in gambling, but some prediction markets allow players aged 18 to participate in event contracts.
New York State Senator Nathalia Fernandez has introduced two bills, SB 10400 and SB 10401, which aim to restrict billboard ads for gambling, sports betting, tobacco, alcohol,...
