ATLANTIC CITY, New Jersey — Just hours after the start of the race, a federal appeals court has suspended legal betting on the outcome of the US Congressional elections.
The Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit issued an order Thursday night temporarily freezing the case until it can consider and rule on the issue. No timetable was initially given.
The court made its ruling around 8:30 p.m. Thursday, just hours after a federal judge cleared the way for the only bets on U.S. elections that could be legally approved by a U.S. jurisdiction.
U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb has granted New York startup Kalshi permission to offer bets on the outcome of the November election, which will determine which parties will gain control of the House of Representatives and the Senate.
Shortly after, the company’s markets went live and Kalshi accepted an undisclosed number of bets, which it called “contracts.”
The Thursday night order put an end to further such bets. What would happen to the bets already placed was still unclear on Friday.
Neither Kalshi nor the commission immediately responded to requests for comment Friday.
The ruling came after the Commodity Futures Trading Commission appealed Cobb’s ruling. The commission warned that allowing election betting, even for a short period, risks serious harm from people trying to manipulate elections for financial gain.
Prices for Kalshi’s so-called predictive contracts fluctuated during the afternoon and early evening hours they were live on Thursday. At one point, a bet on the Republicans to win control of the Senate was priced at 76 cents; a $100 bet would pay $129. A bet on the Democrats to win control of the House was priced at 63 cents, with a $100 bet paying $154.
The election category they were placed under on Thursday was missing from the company’s website Friday afternoon.
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