Comment Text:
I am writing to urge the Commission to take strong regulatory action regarding event contract derivatives traded on prediction markets. These markets raise serious concerns about market integrity, insider trading, and the commodification of events that should remain outside the realm of financial speculation. Event contracts that allow wagering on military operations, foreign policy decisions, terrorism, assassination, or other government actions will put people's lives at risk. Individuals, like many in our current administration, with nonpublic information about those decisions have both the opportunity and financial incentive to exploit that information. When citizens perceive that government decisions may be influenced by private financial interests, it erodes public trust.
I respectfully request that the Commission explicitly prohibit event contracts related to military operations, acts of war, terrorism, political assassinations, and non-financial government policy decisions as contrary to the public interest. Additionally, any event contract where the outcome can be known in advance or controlled by a specific individual or small group is inherently susceptible to manipulation and should not even come up for approval. This includes award show results, political speeches, corporate announcements, and any event where insiders have definitive advance knowledge.
The Commission has both the authority and responsibility under the Commodity Exchange Act to establish clear prohibitions on event contracts that are contrary to the public interest. I respectfully request that the Commission prohibit these dangerous categories of event contracts, strengthen surveillance and enforcement mechanisms to detect insider trading, and prioritize market integrity and public welfare over industry growth. There's something deeply disturbing about this financialization of every aspect of human life, including war. Creating guardrails will show that public our regulatory framework prioritizes human lives and the welfare of the public in general. Simply put, some matters should remain beyond the reach of financial speculation.
