The Trump administration Tuesday took two big steps showing its softer stance on prediction markets than its predecessor, as PredictIt agreed to a less restrictive deal with the Commodity Futures Exchange Commission (CFTC), while the Department of Justice (DoJ) dropped its investigation into Polymarket.
PredictIt was a pioneer of prediction market betting in the U.S., originally launching in 2014 as a research project from Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand. Due to its status as a research project, it was initially allowed to operate in the U.S. under a no-action letter from the CFTC, but with certain limits in place regarding bet size and participants in a given market.
In 2022, the CFTC withdrew its no-action letter and the site was ordered to close by February 2023. However, it secured a temporary injunction that allowed it to keep operating.
