{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://raskin.house.gov/2023/9/cftc-rejects-proposal-to-allow-gambling-on-u-s-elections-following-sarbanes-raskin-letter", "CFTC Rejects Proposal to Allow Gambling on U.S. Elections Following Sarbanes, Raskin Letter", "2023-09-25", "2023", "2023-09", "Democrat", "House", "MD", "Jamie Raskin", "R000606", "raskin.house.gov", "raskin", "https://raskin.house.gov/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 On Friday, the Commodity Future Trading Commission (CFTC) rejected KalshiEX, LLC\u2019s (Kalshi) event contract proposal to allow individuals to bet on party control of either chamber of Congress for a given term. In July, Congressmen John Sarbanes (MD-03) and Jamie Raskin (MD-08) sent a letter to the CFTC urging it to deny the proposal.\n\n\u201cWhen Americans show up to cast their ballot, they deserve to know that their vote is free from election interference or the corrupting influence of dark money in elections,\u201d said the lawmakers. \u201cAt a time when election denialism and extremism are at an all-time high, efforts to legalize gambling on political outcomes pose a fundamental threat to our democracy and the public\u2019s trust in our democratic institutions. We applaud the CFTC\u2019s decision to reject Kalshi\u2019s proposal, which would have increased the proliferation of dark money in our politics and required the CFTC to investigate and enforce election laws \u2013 a role it is neither equipped nor authorized to hold. As the agency concluded on Friday, gambling on elections is squarely contrary to public interest. It is vital we must continue to stand united against all efforts that could reasonably incentivize individuals to interfere with our elections and drown out the true voices of American voters.\u201d\n\n\u201cElections should not be financial auctions of public offices to the highest bidder nor should they be gambling events in which bettors double as voters. Elections should promote public deliberation not casino gambling,\u201d said Rep. Raskin.\n\nIn their July letter to the CFTC, Congressmen Sarbanes and Raskin argued that the agency should deny Kalshi\u2019s event contract proposal on the basis it was \u201ccontrary to the public interest\u201d for its potential to increase election interference and dark money proliferation, undermine election integrity and public trust, and fundamentally be inconsistent with democratic representation. In its 23-page order, the CFTC stated that a significant portion of those who filed public comments expressed concerns about the proposal\u2019s effects on election integrity and inconsistency with democratic ideals. The agency also quoted the lawmakers\u2019 letter directly as it discussed concerns about the agency being forced to serve as an \u2018election cop\u2019 as part of its reasoning for denying the contract.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-08T00:37:48Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://raskin.house.gov/2023/9/cftc-rejects-proposal-to-allow-gambling-on-u-s-elections-following-sarbanes-raskin-letter"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.4039073139429092, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}