Washington, D.C. — The Commodity Futures Trading Commission today announced it is extending the deadline for public comment on a proposal to amend its event contract rules. The extended comment period will close on August 8, 2024. The CFTC is providing an extension to allow interested persons additional time to analyze the proposal and prepare their comments. 

The proposal would amend CFTC Regulation 40.11 to further specify types of event contracts that fall within the scope of Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) Section 5c(c)(5)(C) and are contrary to the public interest, such that they may not be listed for trading or accepted for clearing on or through a CFTC-registered entity.  

Among other things, the proposal would define the term “gaming” for purposes of CEA Section 5c(c)(5)(C) and CFTC Regulation 40.11, and would provide illustrative examples of “gaming,” such as staking or risking something of value on the outcome of a political contest, an awards contest, or a game in which one or more athletes compete, or on an occurrence or non-occurrence in connection with such a contest or game. The proposal would also include a determination that event contracts involving each of the activities enumerated in CEA Section 5c(c)(5)(C) (gaming, war, terrorism, assassination, and activity that is unlawful under any Federal or State law) are, as a category, contrary to the public interest and therefore may not be listed for trading or accepted for clearing on or through a CFTC-registered entity.

The proposal was approved by the CFTC, and published on its website, on May 10, 2024, and was made available for public comment for a period of 60 days, until July 9, 2024. [See CFTC Press Release No. 8907-24] The proposal was published in the Federal Register on June 10, 2024.

Comments may be submitted electronically through the CFTC Comments online process. All comments received will be posted on CFTC.gov.