Comment Text:
Dear Chairman and Commissioners,
My name is Donald Lomax, and I'm just an everyday citizen from South Carolina writing to share my thoughts on the Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Prediction Markets, as published in 91 FR 12516. I've been actively trading on platforms like Kalshi for a while now, and I believe these markets provide something valuable that we can't get anywhere else. I urge you to support well-regulated prediction markets rather than overly restricting or banning them.
For me, prediction markets aren't just a hobby; theyre a way to make sense of a complicated world. Im not a Wall Street guy or some big investor. Im just someone who wants to understand whats likely to happen with elections, economic policies, or even major weather events that could affect my community here in South Carolina. The prices on these markets give me information thats often more accurate than what I hear from pundits or see in polls. Thats not just helpful for me as a trader; its useful for everyone, from regular folks like me to policymakers who need better data to make decisions.
What Ive noticed trading on Kalshi is that informed trading makes the market better for all of us. When people who really know something put their money where their mouth is, the prices reflect reality more closely. Thats price discovery at work. Ive seen it myself when Ive researched an issue, placed a trade based on what I learned, and watched the market price shift as others did the same. This isnt gambling; its about judgment and real-world knowledge, just like trading stocks or commodities. I think this ties directly to some of the questions in your ANPR, like Question 11 on price discovery and Question 29 on whether informed traders help the market. My experience tells me they absolutely do.
I get that there are concerns about things like insider trading or manipulation. Those are real issues, but the answer isnt to shut down prediction markets. Those behaviors are already illegal, and the CFTC has the power to go after bad actors. Banning these markets would punish regular people like me who are just trying to participate and learn. It would also push trading to unregulated, offshore platforms where theres no oversight at all. Id rather see the CFTC focus on smart, targeted rules to address specific risks without throwing out the whole system.
Prediction markets give people like me a chance to engage with important events in a meaningful way. They make information accessible and useful. I hope youll consider my perspective and support proportionate regulation that keeps these markets open and safe for everyone.
If you made it this far this a obliviously something they wrote these "TRADING APPS is basically gambling disguised honestly" ive only lost this much money in a casino. Its very rigged and i swear the live games are rigged by billionaires. And some are paying off big players like LeBron James but im sure you dont care enough to even read this because you're an inside trader your self
Sincerely,
Donald Lomax
