After just a few hours, U.S. election bets put on hold by appeals court ruling

Legal Compliance

Just hours after it began, legal betting on the outcome of U.S. Congressional elections has been put on hold by a federal appeals court.

The Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit issued an order Thursday night temporarily freezing the matter until it can consider and rule on the issue. No timetable was initially given.

The court acted at about 8:30 p.m. Thursday, mere hours after a federal judge cleared the way for the only bets on American elections to be legally sanctioned by a U.S. jurisdiction.

U.S. District Court Judge Jia Cobb permitted New York startup company Kalshi to begin offering what amounts to bets on the outcome of November elections regarding which parties win control of the House and Senate.

The company’s markets went live soon afterwards, and Kalshi accepted an unknown amount of bets, which it called “contracts.”

The Thursday night order put a halt to any further such bets. What might happen to those already made was unclear Friday.

Neither Kalshi nor the commission immediately responded to messages seeking comment Friday.

The ruling came after the Commodity Futures Trading Commission appealed Cobb’s ruling, warning that allowing election bets, even for a short period of time, risked serious harm from people trying to manipulate the election for financial purposes.

The Thursday night order put a halt to any further such bets. What might happen to those already made was unclear Friday.

Neither Kalshi nor the commission immediately responded to messages seeking comment Friday.

The ruling came after the Commodity Futures Trading Commission appealed Cobb’s ruling, warning that allowing election bets, even for a short period of time, risked serious harm from people trying to manipulate the election for financial purposes.

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Nicholas C. Minshew - Minshew & Ahluwalia LLP

Nicholas C. Minshew, Attorney at Law, concentrates his practice in the area of Family Law including divorce, separation, child support, child custody, alimony, division of property, separation agreements, domestic violence, prenuptial agreements, and child support enforcement & modification. Mr. Minshew provides legal services to clients in Washington, D.C., and throughout Maryland, including Montgomery County, Frederick County, and Prince George’s County. Mr. Minshew obtained his Juris Doctorate degree from the American University, Washington College of Law in 2000, where he worked as an editor for the Administrative Law Review. After receiving his law degree, Mr. Minshew worked as an attorney for the global law firm of Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP, and for Leonard Street & Deinard LLP representing companies in Federal proceedings. During that time, Mr. Minshew redirected his focus to provide legal services directly to individuals and families.