Comment Text:
Commodity Futures Trading Commission,
I urge you to take action to prevent insider trading on prediction markets, to limit the events that can be bet on and ensure market integrity.
Prohibited events should include military operations, acts of war, foreign policy decisions, terrorism, political assassinations, other government actions, and non-financial government policy decisions as well as any event where the outcome can be known in advance or controlled by a specific individual or small group such as award show results, political speeches, corporate announcements, and any event where insiders have definitive advance knowledge. Doing so can limit insider trading opportunities since people with nonpublic information could be motivated financially to exploit that information. It can also increase trust in government since there will not be an incentive to make decisions that would result in personal financial gain.
Please use the authority granted you under the Commodity Exchange Act to establish clear prohibitions on event contracts, as exemplified by the above list, that are contrary to the public interest, strengthen surveillance and enforcement mechanisms to detect insider trading, and prioritize market integrity and public welfare over industry growth.
Thank you
