Comment Text:
Dear Chairman and Commissioners,
My name is Cody Ney, and I'm just an everyday citizen from Montana writing to share my thoughts on the Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Prediction Markets, as published in 91 FR 12516. I'm not a lawyer or a financial expert, just someone who believes in the value of these markets and wants to see them regulated in a fair way, not banned or over-restricted.
I've been trading on prediction markets like Kalshi for a while now, and I can tell you theyre a unique tool. They let me put my money where my mouth is on things that matter, like election outcomes or economic indicators, and I get insights from the market prices that I cant find in news or polls. Its not gambling to me. It takes research and thought, just like any other investment. Im not a big player, but being able to participate feels right. Why should only Wall Street types or huge institutions have access to this kind of information? Keeping regular folks like me out of these markets would just concentrate the benefits with the already powerful.
What really gets me fired up is the idea that the US should be leading the way on financial innovation. Ive read about other countries moving ahead with prediction markets while were stuck debating whether to shut them down. Thats frustrating. If we over-regulate or ban these markets, were just handing the future to other nations who are willing to take the lead. Weve got the talent and the technology here. Lets use it. Regulated markets like Kalshi are safer than offshore platforms, and pushing activity underground by being too strict would be a mistake.
I also want to touch on a couple of your specific questions from the ANPR. On Question 7, about balancing innovation and consumer protection, I think the answer is clear: regulate smartly, dont ban. Protect us from fraud or manipulation with the tools you already have, but dont kill a good idea just because its new. And on Question 15, about defining whats gaming versus legitimate, Id argue prediction markets arent gaming at all. Theyre about real-world events and real economic value, not luck.
Im not blind to the risks. I know insider trading or manipulation could be issues, but those are already illegal. Use the laws on the books to go after bad actors instead of punishing everyone by shutting down these markets. Im asking you to support proportionate regulation that lets people like me keep participating in legal, regulated prediction markets. Dont let fear of a few bad apples spoil something thats useful and innovative for so many.
Thank you for taking the time to read my comment.
Sincerely,
Cody Ney
