Comment Text:
Dear Chairman and Commissioners,
My name is Jacob Nemecek, and I'm a student from Ohio. I've been actively trading on prediction markets like Kalshi for a while now, and I want to share why I strongly support well-regulated prediction markets in response to your Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Prediction Markets (91 FR 12516). Kalshi has been a game-changer for me, not just as a tool but as a community. During some tough personal times, it gave me a way to engage with the world, stay informed, and feel connected. I'm grateful for everything it offers, and I even dream of working for them someday.
I believe prediction markets are incredibly valuable, both for me personally and for society. Platforms like Kalshi provide information you can't get anywhere else. Whether it's elections, sports scores, or economic indicators, the forecasts on Kalshi are often more accurate than polls or pundits. As a student, I rely on this to better understand public events, and I know others benefit from these insights too. This isn't gambling, no matter how some might label it. Trading on event contracts takes research and judgment, just like investing in stocks. These markets serve real economic purposes, like price discovery and helping people hedge risks. Classifying them as "gaming" feels like a misunderstanding of what they do.
I also value the freedom to participate in legal, regulated markets. Kalshi, as a CFTC-registered platform, is a safe space to trade compared to unregulated offshore sites. If we over-restrict or ban these markets, people will just go to less secure places, and that helps no one. The U.S. should be leading in financial innovation, not falling behind other countries. We're at a point where we can set the standard for how prediction markets work globally, and I think that's worth fighting for.
Regarding some of your specific questions, like those in Topic Area B on public interest (Questions 7-14), I believe prediction markets balance innovation and consumer protection when they're regulated properly. And on Topic Area C about listed activities (Questions 15-22), I urge you not to treat event contracts as gaming. They have legitimate uses, and broad bans would hurt regular users like me more than theyd stop any bad actors.
I hope the CFTC will support proportionate regulation of prediction markets. Please don't ban or over-restrict them. Keep platforms like Kalshi accessible for students like me who use them every day to learn, engage, and make sense of the world. Thank you for considering my input.
Sincerely,
Jacob Nemecek
