CFTC Chair Michael Selig has intensified a federal–state showdown over prediction markets, directing his agency to intervene in court battles and publicly asserting that the US derivatives watchdog, not state authorities, holds jurisdiction over event contracts.

In a video posted Tuesday on X, Selig said the agency has filed an amicus brief to defend what he called its “exclusive jurisdiction” over prediction markets, which he equated with derivatives markets.

I have some big news to announce… pic.twitter.com/3OBNTaOnIL

— Mike Selig (@ChairmanSelig) February 17, 2026

Selig Defends Federal Authority, Signals Policy Shift

Selig warned that state entities challenging the CFTC’s authority over event contracts “will see” the agency “in court,” framing state enforcement as an “onslaught of state-led litigation” targeting platforms including Coinbase, Crypto.com, Kalshi and Polymarket.

Related: Coinbase Asks Courts to Bar States From Regulating Prediction Markets

He said the CFTC CFTC The 1974 Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) in the United States created the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The Commission protects and regulates market activities against manipulation, fraud, and abuse trade practices and promotes fairness in futures contracts. The CEA also included the Sad-Johnson Agreement, which defined the authority and responsibilities for the monitoring of financial contracts between the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commiss The 1974 Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) in the United States created the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The Commission protects and regulates market activities against manipulation, fraud, and abuse trade practices and promotes fairness in futures contracts. The CEA also included the Sad-Johnson Agreement, which defined the authority and responsibilities for the monitoring of financial contracts between the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commiss Read this Term has regulated such markets for more than two decades and argued that prediction markets allow Americans to hedge commercial risks, such as temperature or energy-price moves, and act as a check on news and information flows.

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Selig’s stance represents a reversal from the agency’s prior efforts to shut down some political and event contracts at firms such as Polymarket and Kalshi before Donald Trump returned to the White House. Courts resisted parts of that earlier crackdown, and the CFTC dropped its litigation after Trump’s team overhauled the agency’s leadership.

Earlier, CFTC dropped a contentious plan to ban political and sports‑related prediction markets and kicked off a joint crypto rulemaking effort with the SEC to keep digital asset trading within the U.S. Selig then announced that he ordered staff to withdraw the 2024 event contracts proposal targeting those markets.

States and Senators Push Back on Gambling Concerns

Utah Governor Spencer Cox publicly challenged Selig’s claims, writing on X that he did not recall the CFTC having authority over a “derivative market” for “LeBron James rebounds.”

Cox called the products “gambling pure and simple,” said they harm families and young men, and pledged to use every power to “beat” the CFTC in court. Utah lawmakers are advancing a bill targeting certain sports contracts, although the state has not led the main enforcement cases.

Mike, I appreciate you attempting this with a straight face, but I don’t remember the CFTC having authority over the “derivative market” of LeBron James rebounds. These prediction markets you are breathlessly defending are gambling—pure and simple. They are destroying the lives… https://t.co/Ohup2x3D8u

— Governor Cox (@GovCox) February 17, 2026

Meanwhile, Polymarket has sued Massachusetts, arguing only the CFTC can police its markets, while Coinbase is suing Connecticut, Illinois and Michigan over efforts to classify related products as gaming.