Michael Selig, chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, criticised New York Attorney General Letitia James at a White House meeting of the Innovation Advisory Committee on 20 August. Selig accused James of attempting to 'nullify federal law and push these markets offshore — to unregulated foreign platforms'.
The dispute centres on jurisdiction over prediction markets. James claims that Kalshi violated New York's age restrictions for sports betting by allowing users aged 18 to 20 to trade contracts tied to sports events without a state gaming licence. On 11 August the CFTC invoked emergency powers to block a state injunction that would have halted Kalshi's operations nationwide. Selig said New York has no authority to regulate interstate financial markets.
Selig also addressed debanking of crypto and prediction platforms. He said 'the era of political arbitrariness, debanking and regulation through coercion is over'. Media previously reported that JPMorgan Chase closed Polymarket's accounts last year, citing regulatory risk.
The advisory committee includes 35 members, among them CEOs of key industry players: Tarek Mansour of Kalshi, Shayne Coplan of Polymarket, and representatives from FanDuel, DraftKings, Coinbase, Robinhood and Crypto.com. Start-up Novig filed lawsuits against New York and three other states in early August, seen as a pre-emptive move ahead of launch.
