Overview
- Following Monday’s bill signing by Gov. Tim Walz, the CFTC filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday seeking a preliminary injunction to stop the ban from taking effect on Aug. 1.
- The new law makes it a crime to operate or advertise a site that lets people wager on future events, covering categories such as sports, elections, short‑term weather, wars, disasters, and pop culture, with potential felony exposure and even penalties for services that help users access the platforms.
- The CFTC, joined in filings reported by multiple outlets with the Justice Department, argues it has exclusive authority over event‑based derivatives and warns the ban would sweep up weather hedging tools that farmers use to manage crop and storm risks.
- Lawmakers included carve‑outs for insurance‑style contracts and federally regulated securities and commodities, and sponsors moved to add a weather‑trading exception after farm groups objected that the bill would undercut longstanding risk‑management practices.
- Minnesota is now the sixth state facing a CFTC challenge in a widening federal‑state fight, as platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket call state bans unlawful and critics point to integrity problems, including alleged insider bets on U.S. military actions and candidates wagering on their own races.