Comment Text:
The "predictive market" sites offer the ability to gamble on any topic you can think of -- from the number of minutes a White House briefing will last to whether or not we launch a war. They create real dangers for consumers who now essentially carry slot machines on their phones, and can be powerful conduits for insider trading among corrupt politicians.
Gambling in any form can become addictive.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission should be regulating these new financial instruments as highly speculative. If they want to be considered financial instruments, then they should come under the strict rules of other financial instruments. List who is managing the instrument. Is there a board of directors? Publish financial accounting report verified by independent accounting firm.
