The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has sent a formal request to Robinhood asking the fintech giant to stop offering its sports event contracts.
On Tuesday, the CFTC sent the request to Robinhood Derivatives to “not permit customers to access” its sports event contracts that are being offered ahead of Super Bowl LIX on Feb. 9 between the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles in New Orleans.
The CFTC requested the shuttering of Robinhood’s sports event contracts after the company announced on Monday a partnership with prediction market Kalshi.
The deal was for Kalshi to power Robinhood’s sports event contracts for the Big Game. Robinhood offered “Who Will Win?” event contracts before the CFTC’s formal request.
Robinhood’s sports event contracts were available to customers for less than 48 hours.
“We are disappointed by this outcome, especially given that we had been in regular communication with the CFTC about our intent and plans to offer this product,” said Robinhood in a statement shared via X. “We will continue to collaborate with the CFTC as we work to roll out a more comprehensive event contracts platform later this year.”
Robinhood’s sports event contracts, open to those with a Robinhood Derivatives account, were made available to approximately 1% of the company’s total customer base.
CFTC plans to discuss event contracts
The commission has sent a request to Robinhood as it plans to discuss event contracts.
Acting CFTC Chair Carolina Pham has announced plans to launch a series of roundtables to discuss trends and innovation in market structure, including event contracts.
The CFTC is planning to discuss event contracts amid the growing popularity of political event contracts, which have been under regulatory scrutiny over the past two years.
Pham has voiced her desire for the CFTC to create a regulatory framework for prediction markets. She believes the CFTC has the authority because contracts are not gaming.