The Commodity Futures Trading Commission said Tuesday it has filed a lawsuit against Utah to block the state from using its own laws to shut down CFTC-registered contract markets. The commission announced the filing in a press release on October 27, 2026.
The lawsuit follows Utah’s decision to file civil enforcement actions in state court against CFTC-regulated markets and other businesses. The CFTC argues that Utah’s effort to restrict the functioning of federally registered exchanges obstructs Congress’s decision to preempt state law with federal oversight of these venues.
Chairman Michael S. Selig said Utah “seeks to shut down prediction markets across a wide variety of markets.”
In the release, Selig argued that event contracts, the derivatives whose payouts depend on the outcome of a future event, do more than serve hedging and investment purposes: they give the public information about future events. Congress, he said, entrusted the CFTC with sole federal responsibility to oversee these markets.
The suit widens a campaign the commission describes as nationwide. As of October 27, the CFTC said it has initiated legal proceedings against nine other states besides Utah and has submitted briefs in four federal courts of appeal and one state supreme court. The press release does not name the other states.
Utah’s own moves against prediction markets are not new. The state’s attorney general previously sued Kalshi to end sports and election betting in the state, and the new filing escalates that clash to a direct confrontation between a federal regulator and a state.
Which court the suit was filed in and what remedies the CFTC seeks are not stated in the announcement.
For help with gambling-related harm, see responsible gambling guide.
