PredictIt, a market that built its name by letting Americans bet on who will be elected to Congress or the next president, has lost its legal authority to operate in the US.
The move by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission on Aug. 4 to revoke the regulatory letter relied on by the platform sent shock waves through the political-gambling industry. Since 2014, PredictIt has used the permission granted for research purposes to a New Zealand university to let Americans bet on US elections, something that’s generally forbidden.
The focus on politics thrust PredictIt into the forefront of an emerging asset ...