---
type: source
title: "CFTC ANPRM on Prediction Markets — RIN 3038-AF65, 45-Day Comment Window"
author: "CFTC / Federal Register"
url: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/03/16/2026-05105/prediction-markets
date: 2026-03-16
domain: internet-finance
secondary_domains: []
format: article
status: processed
priority: high
tags: [cftc, regulation, prediction-markets, anprm, comment-period, futarchy]
---

## Content

The CFTC issued an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) on prediction markets on March 12, 2026, published in the Federal Register on March 16, 2026.

Key facts:
- Docket/RIN: **RIN 3038-AF65**
- Federal Register Document No. **2026-05105** (91 FR 12516)
- Published: March 16, 2026
- Comment period: 45 days from publication — deadline approximately **April 30, 2026**
- Comment submission: https://comments.cftc.gov, identified by "Prediction Markets" and RIN 3038-AF65

Scope: Whether to amend or issue new regulations on event contracts traded on prediction markets. Questions include:
- What contracts may be prohibited as contrary to public interest
- Cost-benefit considerations for regulation
- Core principle applications to prediction market operators

Stage: ANPRM is pre-rulemaking. The CFTC has not yet drafted proposed rules — this is information gathering. Further from regulation than headlines suggest.

Law firm mobilization: Morrison Foerster, Norton Rose Fulbright, Davis Wright Tremaine, Morgan Lewis, WilmerHale, Crowell & Moring all published client alerts within days of publication — unusually dense legal response suggesting industry treats this as high-stakes.

Secondary sources:
- CFTC Press Release 9194-26: https://www.cftc.gov/PressRoom/PressReleases/9194-26
- Morrison Foerster alert: https://www.mofo.com/resources/insights/260316-cftc-issues-notable-prediction-markets-advisory
- Norton Rose Fulbright: https://www.nortonrosefulbright.com/en/knowledge/publications/fed865b0/cftc-advances-regulatory-framework-for-prediction-markets
- Davis Wright Tremaine: https://www.dwt.com/blogs/financial-services-law-advisor/2026/03/cftc-advisory-and-anprm-on-prediction-markets
- WilmerHale: https://www.wilmerhale.com/en/insights/client-alerts/20260317-cftc-seeks-public-input-on-prediction-markets-regulation

## Agent Notes

**Why this matters:** Confirms the regulatory risk thread tracked since March 2026. The CFTC is formally gathering input on whether prediction markets need new regulation. This directly affects futarchy governance markets (which are prediction markets), Living Capital's regulatory positioning, and the CFTC vs. gaming classification question tracked across sessions 3-5.

**What surprised me:** The ANPRM is genuinely early-stage. The headline risk (CFTC regulating prediction markets) is real, but the timeline is long — ANPRM → proposed rule → final rule is typically 2-3+ years. The immediate urgency is the comment window: April 30 deadline is an advocacy opportunity, not just a risk signal. The law firm response density is unusual for an ANPRM; it suggests firms are treating this as a major inflection.

**What I expected but didn't find:** The specific questions in the ANPRM (need to read the full Federal Register document to extract them). This matters for drafting a comment that addresses the CFTC's actual questions about futarchy governance markets.

**KB connections:** Directly relates to regulatory defensibility claims in internet-finance domain. Also connects to CLARITY Act (express preemption) and state gaming law classification threads from previous sessions.

**Extraction hints:**
1. "CFTC ANPRM confirms federal regulatory attention to prediction markets is now formal" — regulatory status claim
2. "April 30, 2026 comment deadline is advocacy window for futarchy governance market framing" — actionable finding
3. "ANPRM stage means 2-3+ year rulemaking timeline — immediate operational risk is low, long-term uncertainty is high" — timeline calibration

**Context:** Filed March 12, 2026 — same week as Hurupay ICO failure and MetaDAO platform stress. Regulatory and operational risks are co-occurring, not sequential.

## Curator Notes

PRIMARY CONNECTION: regulatory defensibility claims; prediction market jurisdiction (domains/internet-finance/)
WHY ARCHIVED: Confirms docket number (RIN 3038-AF65), establishes comment deadline (April 30, 2026), scopes regulatory risk as longer-term than immediate
EXTRACTION HINT: Extractor should focus on the ANPRM stage calibration (pre-rulemaking, 2-3 year timeline) AND the advocacy opportunity (comment window). Don't just extract "CFTC is regulating prediction markets" — the nuance is that it's gathering information, not yet regulating.
