Comment Text:
Dear Chairman and Commissioners,
My name is Hunter Shuffield, and I'm just a regular guy from Mississippi writing to share my thoughts on the Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Prediction Markets, as published in 91 FR 12516. Im not a lawyer or a big-time investor, just someone whos found prediction markets like Kalshi to be useful in my day-to-day life, and I want to see them regulated fairly, not banned or choked with restrictions.
I started trading on Kalshi a while back because I wanted a way to make sense of the crazy uncertainty we deal with every day, whether its elections, inflation numbers, or even weather events that hit close to home here in Mississippi. The prices on these markets give me information I cant get from news or polls. Theyre often more accurate, and that helps me plan better, whether its figuring out how a policy might affect my budget or just understanding whats likely to happen. Im not gambling when I trade. It takes research and real thought, just like investing in stocks or anything else. Calling event contracts gaming feels wrong to me. They serve a real purpose, helping regular folks like me hedge against risks and stay informed.
What worries me most is the idea of banning or over-restricting these markets. If the CFTC clamps down too hard, people arent going to stop trading. Theyll just move to offshore platforms that arent regulated at all. Id much rather trade on a platform like Kalshi, where theres oversight and rules, than some shady site overseas with no protections. Pushing activity offshore doesnt solve problems, it just makes them worse by taking away the safety of U.S. regulation. I think the CFTC has the tools already to handle issues like manipulation or insider trading without throwing the baby out with the bathwater.
I noticed a few questions in the ANPR that tie into this, like Question 7 on balancing innovation and consumer protection, and Question 14 on how prediction markets compare to other financial tools. I believe well-regulated markets strike that balance and offer something unique for everyday people to manage uncertainty. And to Question 29 about inside information, Id say the answer isnt to shut markets down but to enforce the laws we already have against insider trading.
Im asking you to support proportionate regulation of prediction markets. Dont ban them or make the rules so tight that only big players can participate. Keep platforms like Kalshi accessible for regular folks like me, under fair oversight that protects everyone without driving activity to unsafe corners of the internet.
Thank you for considering my input.
Sincerely,
Hunter Shuffield
