Judge allows voters to place yes-or-no bets on upcoming US elections

A federal judge on Thursday officially struck down a Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) ruling that banned voters from making bets on the outcomes of Congressional races.

The Washington judge first overturned the decision on Friday, but expanded the ruling on Thursday to specifically allow the New York-based Kalshi to offer prediction contrasts, or yes-or-no bets, on what political party will control the House and Senate after November.

Kalshi opened the trading market for bets on the upcoming Congressional elections on Thursday afternoon, but the CFTC has already filed an appeal of the ruling. 

“The Kalshi community just made history, and I know we are only getting started,” Tarek Mansour, a co-founder of the company, told the Associated Press. “Now is finally the time to allow these markets to show the world just how powerful they are at providing signal amidst the noise, and giving us more truth about what the future holds.”

It is not clear whether the company will expand its portfolio to allow yes-or-no bets on the presidential election. But it costs 75 cents to vote "yes" on Republicans winning the Senate in November, and 25 cents to vote "no." Betting that Democrats would win the House was less expensive than Republicans, with voting "yes" on Democrats winning the House costing 63 cents, and voting "no" costing 38 cents, according to The Hill.

The CFTC previously shut down the bets because it posed a financial incentive for voting a certain way in elections, regardless of whether the individual believed that party or candidate was the best choice. 

The ruling opens the lane for other companies, including casinos and sport betting companies, to try and offer similar bets in the future. 

Misty Severi is an evening news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.