Interactive Brokers, a popular trading platform, announced that it will be launching wagering on the outcome of the US election. Set to take place in November, the election is highly anticipated by US citizens and bettors alike.
Interactive Brokers Plans to Offer Exciting Markets
Speaking to the Wall Street Journal, Interactive Brokers said that it plans to launch markets on the main event – the faceoff between Vice President Kamala Harris and ex-POTUS Donald Trump. In addition, the company is also considering betting on certain Senate elections.
As an experienced firm, Interactive Brokers has the necessary experience to offer robust trading products. The rise of election betting answers to an increasing demand for such products. As the owner of the largest digital trading platform, Interactive Markets is poised to capitalize on this growing interest while engaging fans with reliable trading.
Kalshi’s Recent Win in Court Was a Catalyst
Interactive Broker’s decision to launch election markets came after prediction market Kalshi defeated the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) in court, allowing it to offer cash-settled election outcome contracts. While the CFTC tried to block this offering, District Court Judge Jia Cobb just ruled in favor of Kalshi, arguing that the election markets do not constitute gaming and are not illegal.
Commenting on her decision, Cobb said that this is not a matter of what the court thinks about Kalshi’s products but rather a matter of determining whether the CFTC should have been allowed to conduct its public interest review.
Cobb’s ruling essentially paved the way for Kalshi’s launch on betting on the November 5 elections. The company launched two markets concerning the House and Senate control in the wake of the elections.
Traditional Political Betting Markets Are Still Illegal
In the meantime, political betting in the United States remains a controversial matter. While generally illegal in the US, the vertical has found workarounds in order to provide customers with the products they want.
Polymarkets, which is one of the most popular platforms, for example, allows fans to purchase shares in the outcomes of political events. Since these shares are technically assets, engaging in such trading activity does not constitute batting in the traditional sense.
Other Americans have been seeking the services of gray market operators, such as Smarkets and PredictIt.
In any case, even the tamer trading markets have attracted scrutiny as some suggested that such products undermine the integrity of democracy itself.