A senator tried to ban gambling on prediction markets—now she's a Kalshi lobbyist
Sen. Blanche Lincoln wrote law that let US ban sports-event contracts. She lobbies for the other side now.
In July 2010, US Senator Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) spoke out against the potential problems posed by prediction markets. During Senate proceedings on the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, Lincoln warned that these markets might evade gambling laws by offering event contracts that allowed people to wager on events like the Super Bowl or the Kentucky Derby.
Lincoln herself played a key role in crafting the law that now regulates prediction markets, explaining that such contracts would not serve any genuine commercial purpose and would be used solely for gambling. Today, Lincoln has changed roles - she now works as a lobbyist for prediction market Kalshi, urging the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to allow sports gambling on these markets.
It's worth noting that the firm she co-founded has received $480,000 from Kalshi since 2024 in return for lobbying efforts in Congress and the CFTC to push for looser regulation of event contracts on prediction markets.
Written by urgent.news from Ars Technica Policy's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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