Gary Gensler kicks against Trump CFTC's prediction market oversight push - Cryptopolitan

Crypto Insight Summary: * Former SEC and CFTC Chair Gary Gensler filed an amicus brief arguing the CFTC lacks authority to regulate sports-related prediction markets. * Gensler is siding with states and the gambling industry against the Trump administration’s push for federal oversight. * The case is likely headed to the Supreme Court, with billions in tax revenue and the future structure of the prediction market industry at stake. Gensler, who led the SEC from 2021 to 2025 and the CFTC from 2009 to 2014, filed an amicus brief (a “friend of the court” filing) with the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, arguing that Congress never meant for sports betting contracts to be treated as federally regulated “swaps” when it wrote the Dodd-Frank Act. Swaps are financial tools used to protect against economic risks, like a farmer hedging against a drop in crop prices. Sports bets, he argues, are rarely, if ever, used for that purpose. Gensler oversaw the creation of those swap rules when he [led the CFTC](https://www.cftc.gov/About/Commissioners/FormerCommissioners/ggensler.html), so he is essentially arguing against how his former agency is now interpreting the law. He also [argues](https://www.cnbc.com/video/2026/06/11/former-cftc-chair-gary-gensler-on-regulating-sports-betting-let-the-states-do-it.html) that letting the CFTC take over would override the rights of states that have legalized sports betting and collect taxes from it. In April 2026, the Third Circuit, which is pro-CFTC, ruled that New Jersey could not shut down prediction markets. In the Sixth Circuit, where Gensler just filed his brief, a federal judge in Ohio ruled against Kalshi in March 2026, allowing the state to move forward with its lawsuit against the prediction market platform. Crypto Insight Analysis: Direction: Neutral Impact: Minor Impact Horizon: Short-term (1-3 days) Reasoning: Prediction market regulation debate unlikely to directly impact crypto markets in the short term.