People began betting on which political party would win control of the US Congress in the November elections within minutes of a judge’s ruling overnight allowing the bets — the only ones to be legally approved by a US jurisdiction.
New York startup company Kalshi began taking what amounts to bets on the outcome of the November congressional elections after a judge refused to block them from doing so.
The ruling enabled the company, at least temporarily, to offer prediction contracts — essentially yes-or-no bets — on which party will win control of the Senate and the House in November.
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“The Kalshi community just made history, and I know we are only getting started,” said Tarek Mansour, a co-founder of the company.
“Now is finally the time to allow these markets to show the world just how powerful they are at providing signal amidst the noise, and giving us more truth about what the future holds.”
It was not clear whether the company intends to offer bets beyond the ones posted Thursday for congressional races, including potentially taking bets on the presidential race.
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It also was not immediately clear whether sports books or online casinos would seek to offer similar political bets in light of the ruling.
Prices on Kalshi’s so-called predictive contracts varied throughout the early afternoon. As of mid-afternoon, a bet on the Republicans to win control of the Senate was priced at US76 cents ($1.13); a US$100 ($149) bet would pay US$129 ($192). A bet on the Democrats to win control of the House was priced at US63c (94c), with a US$100 bet paying out US$154 ($229).
It was not clear how long such betting might last; the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which last year prohibited the company from offering them, said it would appeal the ruling as quickly as possible.
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Better Markets, a nonprofit organisation that says it advocates for the public interest in financial markets, called the development “a dangerous move that opens the floodgates to unprecedented gambling on US elections, eroding public trust in both markets and democracy.”
Contrasting his client with foreign companies who take bets from American customers on US elections without US government approval, Roth said Kalshi is trying to do things the right way, under government regulation.
“It invested significantly in these markets,” he said during the hearing.
“They spent millions of dollars. It would be perverse if all that investment went up in smoke.”
But Raagnee Beri, an attorney for the commission, said allowing such bets could invite malicious activities designed to influence the outcome of elections and undermine already fragile public confidence in the voting process.
“These contracts would give market participants a US$100 million incentive to influence the market on the election,” she said. “There is a very severe public interest threat.”
She used the analogy of someone who has taken an investment position in corn commodities.
“Somebody puts out misinformation about a drought, that a drought is coming,” she said.
“That could move the market on the price of corn. The same thing could happen here. The commission is not required to suffer the flood before building a dam.”
The overnight ruling will not be the last word on the case. The commission said it will appeal on an emergency basis to a Washington DC circuit court, and asked the judge to stay her ruling for 24 hours. But the judge declined, leaving no prohibition in place on the company offering election bets, at least in the very near term.
The company already offers yes-no positions on political topics including whether a government shutdown will happen this year, whether a new Supreme Court justice will be confirmed this year, and whether President Joe Biden’s approval rating will be above or below a certain level by the end of the year.
The Kalshi bets are technically not the first to be offered legally on US elections. West Virginia permitted such bets for one hour in April 2020 before reversing itself and canceling those betting markets, deciding it had not done the proper research beforehand.
There are many different ways to get help and information about gambling. Call the National Gambling Helpline on 1800 858 858; use online counselling; find information about help services in your state or territory; get information and support for family and friends; get information about how to talk with someone about their gambling; or contact Gamblers Anonymous.
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