Brain Quintenz, Trump’s nominee to lead the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), has announced he will resign from his position on Kalshi’s board upon taking office.
Quintenz sent a letter to John Einstman, the designated agency ethics official for the Office of the General Counsel of the CFTC, declaring, “Upon confirmation, I will resign from my position with KalshiEx.”
He also added that he will give up all the shares he holds in the prediction market platform, as well as unvested stock options. In the letter he wrote, “I will forfeit all KalshiEx stock options that are unvested at the time of my resignation. I will divest any vested stock options and stock in KalshiEx as soon as practicable, but not later than 90 days after my confirmation.”
Quintenz also stated that he will not get involved in any matter with Kalshi for at least his first year in office, adding, “for a period of one year after my resignation, I will not participate personally and substantially in any particular matter involving specific parties in which I know KalshiEx is a party or represents a party”.
CFTC to remain silent on sports betting?
The CFTC has remained silent on Kalshi’s expansion into sports betting markets, despite pressure from state regulators and sports leagues to take action. Quintenz will be the only active commissioner out of five seats when he takes office, as all the others have either left or are planning to leave.
Under new leadership, the organization has shown signs of favoring the expansion of prediction markets. Previously, under the Biden administration, the CFTC had ordered Kalshi to remove its US president market, but after losing a court battle, Kalshi reinstated the market, which proved popular with bettors.
It marked the first time Americans could legally wager on the outcome of the election, and the CFTC recently withdrew its legal challenge, paving the way for future betting on elections. A candidate for California Governor, Kyle Langford, this week placed a bet on himself to win office.
With the popularity of election markets, Kalshi has expanded its sports markets this year. The company had restricted markets to futures in the past, but now allow users to predict the outcomes of single matches in NBA, NFL, MLB and NHL. They also offered a range of March Madness markets in NCAA basketball, which saw over $400 million in trading volume.
Additionally, Kalshi reported $86 million in trades on the Masters last month. In total, Kalshi processed approximately $1.97 billion in trading volume in 2024, a substantial increase from $183 million in 2023. That figure looks set to rise again this year, given the volume of trades in their sports markets.
Sports markets on the platform now account for more than 75% of all the markets. This has angered tribal sportsbooks, as well as state gambling regulators. Seven states have issued cease-and-desist letters to the platform, but Kalshi responded by suing in New Jersey, Nevada, and Maryland, and is likely to do the same in other states.
Judges have so far sided with Kalshi and allowed operations to continue in New Jersey and Nevada. With Quintenz set to lead the CFTC, it looks unlikely that there will be many successful challenges to Kalshi’s operations in the near future.
Adam is an experienced writer with years of experience in the gambling industry. He has worked as a content writer and editor for five years on sites such as Oddschecker, CoinTelegraph and Gambling Industry News, bringing excellent knowledge of the world of sports betting and online gambling. Adam focuses on emerging stories in the ever changing landscape of betting in the US. Read the latest on prediction markets, changing legislation, and sweepstakes.
