WASHINGTON DC (KOLO) – Nevada Senators Catherine Cortez Masto and Jacky Rosen are calling on the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to rein in bets on wildfires on prediction markets.
They, along with Senator Jeff Merkley of Oregon, penned a letter to the commission on Monday.
The Senators raised public safety and insider trading concerns in their letter.
“Offering bets on destructive wildfires threatens to minimize communities’ suffering all so the rich and powerful can profit,” the Senators wrote.“ There’s also the heightened risk –according to state and local fire officials –that individuals could be tempted to commit arson in order to make sure their bets are successful. By offering contracts on fires, prediction market sites run the risk of encouraging people to influence fires that have already started, creating additional concerns around public safety and insider trading.”
They say the CFTC must ensure regulated exchanges are not listing event contracts allowing users to profit from wildfires.
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