U.S. President Donald Trump is singing the praises of prediction markets such as Kalshi and Polymarket.
On social media, Trump said it’s “critically important” that regulator the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) keep “exclusive authority” over prediction markets.
“Under my leadership, we are setting ‘rules of the road’ that are the Gold Standard for the States,” he posted. “We cannot have SCUM like Chris Christie, Letitia James, Tim Walz, and JB Pritzker setting the rules!”
Trump’s comments come as a growing number of U.S. states launch lawsuits to block prediction markets and their betting on real-world events such as elections and sporting events.
Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has defended states’ authority to regulate gambling products, which he likened to prediction markets.
Many states argue that authority to regulate prediction markets should rest with them rather than the U.S. federal government in Washington, D.C.
Illinois recently sent a cease-and-desist order to Kalshi and Polymarket, while Minnesota signed a new law enforcing criminal penalties for operating prediction markets in that state.
The legal challenges seek to clarify whether prediction markets are gambling products dressed up as financial instruments.
The CFTC under Trump has taken the position that all prediction markets fall under its jurisdiction, and that states do not have the right to infringe on that authority.
States, meanwhile, have taken the position that these contracts are actually gambling, and therefore should be supervised by state gaming regulators.
Trump’s family has ties to various prediction markets, with son Donald Trump Jr. acting as an adviser to both Polymarket and Kalshi.
Kalshi and Polymarket are privately held and their stocks do not trade on a public exchange.
