The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) said on November 13 that it had filed a lawsuit against Arkansas to block the state’s attempts to halt event-contract trading. The agency said Arkansas seeks to impose civil penalties of up to hundreds of millions of dollars on CFTC-registered exchanges.
Arkansas is pursuing a civil enforcement action against Kalshi in state court. Kalshi is a CFTC-designated contract market. The commission says Arkansas’s efforts to obstruct exchanges lawfully operating under the Commodity Exchange Act are preempted by federal law.
CFTC Chairman Michael S. Selig said Arkansas was seeking to shut down event contracts covering sports, politics and other important world events. He said the commission would continue defending its sole jurisdiction over the federally regulated markets.
