Gary Gensler, former chair of both the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission, is pushing back on claims made by the current CFTC Chair that the agency has jurisdiction over prediction markets and event contracts tied to sporting events.

In an amicus brief filed Thursday with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, Gensler argued that the Dodd-Frank Act, the financial reform law enacted after the 2008 financial crisis, did not grant the agency authority over sports wagering. His position directly contradicts that of current CFTC Chair Michael Selig, as well as prediction-market platform Kalshi, both of which maintain that such contracts fall under federal jurisdiction.

"If Dodd-Frank had preempted the states on sports betting, it would have been one of the biggest stories about Dodd-Frank at the time," Gensler said in the brief. "But nobody ever mentioned it."

Gensler previously served as chair of the SEC from 2021 to 2025, during which he asserted that most cryptocurrencies were securities and brought multiple cases against big-name crypto firms, including Coinbase and Kraken. Before that, he was chair of the CFTC from 2009 to 2014, where he implemented Dodd-Frank rules. 

The brief was filed in a case involving the prediction market Kalshi. Kalshi sued the state of Ohio in October 2025 after the Ohio Casino Control Commission ordered the platform to stop offering sports-related event contracts to its residents.  A judge had since denied Kalshi's request for a preliminary injunction. Meanwhile, the CFTC has backed Kalshi in that fight, arguing that Ohio is overstepping its jurisdiction. 

Over the past year, Selig has further looked to assert jurisdiction by proposing rules for prediction markets. He has argued that the CFTC has a broad statute, despite objections from states that say platforms are violating local gaming and gambling laws, particularly related to sports-related bets. So far, the agency has sued several states in its fight to assert its oversight over prediction markets. 

This past week, the agency also proposed broad rulemaking for the burgeoning prediction markets that would still allow overall support for sports betting, despite opposition from state regulators. However, bets on terrorism, assassinations and war would be more limited. 

Gensler also criticized the CFTC's ability to oversee prediction markets. The agency's funding, or lack thereof, as some see it, has also been an issue over the years.

The CFTC's sister agency, the SEC, has six times the number of staff as the CFTC. Former CFTC Chair Rostin Behnam has called for more funding at the agency, as well as President Donald Trump's previous pick to run the agency, Brian Quintenz.

In the brief, Gensler said the CFTC did not ask for funding to regulate sports betting, "and it lacks the experience to do so," he said.