---
type: source
title: "CFTC Chairman Selig Testifies for Hours on Prediction Markets Before House Agriculture Committee"
author: "BettorsInsider"
url: https://bettorsinsider.com/sports-betting/2026/04/17/the-cftc-chairman-just-testified-for-hours-on-prediction-markets-heres-what-proposed-rulemaking-actually-means/
date: 2026-04-17
domain: internet-finance
secondary_domains: []
format: article
status: processed
processed_by: rio
processed_date: 2026-04-20
priority: high
tags: [cftc, selig, anprm, prediction-markets, congress, regulation, gaming-classification]
extraction_model: "anthropic/claude-sonnet-4.5"
claims_extracted:
- "cftc-gaming-classification-silence-signals-rule-40-11-structural-contradiction"
---

## Content

On April 16, CFTC Chairman Michael Selig testified before the House Committee on Agriculture for several hours on prediction markets, crypto regulation, insider trading concerns, and the CFTC's enforcement posture.

**On the ANPRM:** Selig repeatedly deferred to the ANPRM process, emphasizing it is "a public request for information and comment that the agency will use to inform what a future rule might look like." Declined to prejudge outcomes before April 30 comment deadline.

**On gaming contract classification:** When Democrats pressed on whether sports betting contracts should be classified as gaming (potentially triggering Rule 40.11 prohibition on listing gaming contracts on DCMs), Selig "consistently declined to answer."

**On the regulatory framework:** "The CFTC intends to build a comprehensive framework for event contracts — not restrict them." Limited specificity on how contracts would be classified or which types would face heightened scrutiny.

**ANPRM key questions:** Which event contracts should face heightened scrutiny? How to handle inside information in prediction markets? Whether event contracts should be classified as futures or swaps? How existing core principles (market surveillance, manipulation) should apply?

**Comment volume:** 800+ submissions from industry, academics, state gaming commissions, tribal gaming operators.

## Agent Notes

**Why this matters:** Selig's refusal to answer the gaming classification question is the tell. The Rule 40.11 paradox (identified in Session 21) remains unresolved — CFTC will not say publicly whether its own rules prohibit listing gaming contracts, because acknowledging that would undermine the DCM preemption argument. The ANPRM is the procedural mechanism for avoiding a direct answer while the litigation plays out. Comment deadline April 30 — after which CFTC must actually propose a rule.

**What surprised me:** The gaming classification question came from Democrats, not Republicans. Both parties have constituents with interests here (tribal gaming operators, state gaming commissions, retail investors). The political dynamics around prediction markets are bipartisan opposition — not just state-level.

**What I expected but didn't find:** Any signal from Selig on the CFTC's internal position on Rule 40.11 / gaming contract classification. Absence of an answer IS the answer for now.

**KB connections:** "the DAO Reports rejection of voting as active management is the central legal hurdle for futarchy because prediction market trading must prove fundamentally more meaningful than token voting" — the gaming classification question is the parallel challenge for regulated prediction markets. "AI autonomously managing investment capital is regulatory terra incognita" — CFTC's framework-building intent suggests they're thinking about the AI management question even if not publicly addressing it.

**Extraction hints:** Claim candidate: "CFTC's refusal to address whether sports contracts qualify as gaming contracts under Rule 40.11 during congressional testimony signals the rule creates a structural contradiction in DCM authorization that cannot be resolved without ANPRM rulemaking." Also useful: "800+ ANPRM comment submissions from both industry and state gaming opponents signal that the CFTC's post-April 30 rulemaking process will face intense political pressure from both sides."

**Context:** Selig's testimony was scheduled the day after the 9th Circuit oral arguments (April 16). Both events on the same day — prediction market regulatory stress was at a peak. Selig's deference to the ANPRM process reads as deliberate: say nothing that would prejudice the pending litigation.

## Curator Notes

PRIMARY CONNECTION: "the DAO Reports rejection of voting as active management is the central legal hurdle for futarchy because prediction market trading must prove fundamentally more meaningful than token voting"
WHY ARCHIVED: Selig's refusal to address Rule 40.11 in congressional testimony is the clearest signal yet that the paradox is live and unresolved at the CFTC level
EXTRACTION HINT: Extract the "CFTC refusal to answer gaming classification" as a claim about regulatory uncertainty, not a claim about the answer; note the ANPRM comment closure date and its role as a political buffer
