CFTC Floats Prediction Market Rule to Crack Down on War Bets (1)

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission unveiled a proposal for prediction markets Wednesday that would crack down on bets related to war, terrorism and assassination.

The CFTC plan also proposed narrowly defining some “gaming” — the category that helped launch the surge of sports-related prediction markets 18 months ago - to be games of “pure luck.” That definition would allow the majority of sports contracts now trading to continue.

The move is the latest by the agency that has argued it has “exclusive jurisdiction” overseeing the surging industry. The contracts are treated as derivatives by the regulator and allow people to ...