Comment Text:
Dear Chairman and Commissioners,
My name is Alex Pritchard, 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 trading on prediction markets like Kalshi for a while now, and I believe these platforms are valuable and worth regulating properly, not banning or over-restricting.
I got into prediction markets because I wanted a way to make sense of the uncertainty around big events that affect my life, like elections or economic decisions. Trading on Kalshi has given me a chance to put my research and judgment to work, and honestly, the prices on these markets often seem more reliable than what I hear from news pundits or polls. It's not gambling to me. It feels more like investing, where I have to think hard about real-world events and their likelihood. I think classifying event contracts as "gaming," as some suggest in your questions 15 through 22, misses the point. These contracts have legitimate economic purposes, like helping people hedge real risks. For instance, I've used them to offset worries about how an election might impact my small savings or local business costs. That's not a game; it's practical.
I also strongly believe that regulated markets like Kalshi are far safer than the alternative. If the CFTC over-restricts or bans these markets, people like me won't just stop trading. We'll get pushed to unregulated offshore platforms that don't have any oversight. Thats a worse outcome for everyone. Id much rather trade on a platform under CFTC rules, where there's transparency and protection against manipulation. Your questions 7 through 14 about balancing innovation and consumer protection hit on this, and I think the answer is clear: keep these markets legal and regulated here in the US so activity doesnt get driven underground.
I know there are concerns about things like insider trading or market manipulation, and I get that. But the CFTC already has tools to handle those issues, just like with other markets. Shutting down prediction markets to stop a few bad actors feels like overkill and punishes regular folks like me who are using these platforms responsibly. I urge you to focus on proportionate regulation that addresses specific risks without taking away our freedom to participate in legal, regulated markets.
Thank you for considering my perspective. I hope the CFTC will support well-regulated prediction markets and avoid broad bans or restrictions that would hurt everyday traders and push activity offshore.
Sincerely,
Alex Pritchard
