US President Donald Trump has thrown his personal weight behind the federal government's effort to retain exclusive oversight of prediction markets, attacking Democratic state officials by name in a late-night Truth Social post.
Trump Backs CFTC on Prediction Markets, Attacks State Regulators on Truth Social
27 May 2026 - 11:21 CEST
By Matt Neill
"It is critically important that the CFTC's exclusive authority over Prediction Markets is maintained, and that they will thrive," Trump wrote on 26 May.
"We cannot have SCUM like Chris Christie, Letitia James, Tim Walz, and JB Pritzker setting the rules. Other Countries are after this new form of Financial Market, and we want to remain at the top." He also praised CFTC chairman Michael Selig, calling him "respected by all" and saying he is "doing a great job."
The post marks the president's most direct public intervention in the prediction market jurisdiction dispute, which has escalated sharply in recent weeks.
Trump's position aligns with that of his CFTC appointee Selig, who has pursued an aggressive campaign to assert federal primacy over event contract regulation, filing lawsuits against Connecticut, Illinois, New York, Wisconsin, Arizona and Minnesota and securing a preliminary injunction against state regulation in Arizona.
Battle lines drawn
State officials pushing back against the CFTC's position have framed prediction markets as gambling by another name, subject to state gaming laws.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz signed the first outright state ban on prediction markets last week, prompting the CFTC to file a federal lawsuit against the state the following day. Illinois governor JB Pritzker, one of the officials named by Trump, responded to the post on X, accusing the administration of seeking to protect family financial interests in the sector. New York Attorney General Letitia James has filed charges against Coinbase and Gemini over their prediction market platforms.
Trump's involvement is complicated by his own connections to the industry. His media company has launched a prediction market product, and his son Donald Trump Jr. serves as an adviser to Kalshi and has invested in Polymarket through venture capital firm 1789 Capital.
House Oversight Committee chair James Comer separately began a congressional investigation into insider trading on both platforms on 22 May, requesting documents on identity verification and anomalous trading detection from their chief executives by 5 June.
Widening legal fight
Monthly volumes across major prediction market platforms exceeded $20bn in January 2026, according to TRM Labs, with the sector attracting multi-billion dollar valuations in a series of investment rounds.
The sector has also become the focus of insider-trading concerns following the arrest of a US special forces soldier who allegedly used classified information to generate more than $400,000 in Polymarket profits. Both Kalshi and Polymarket tightened their own insider-trading rules in March.
The CFTC issued a blanket no-action letter on 13 May standardizing reporting relief for event contract operators, further cementing its position as the sole federal authority over the sector at a moment when that authority is under sustained challenge from more than a dozen states.
