Regulated U.S. trading platforms could not offer bets tied to war, terrorism, assassination, or a person’s death. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission would help decide which similar events also fall under the ban.
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DEATH BETS Act is a Senate bill in committee. The latest recorded action: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.
Latest action on S. 4035: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.
Who this affects: This bill mainly affects CFTC-regulated exchanges, clearinghouses, and people who trade event-based contracts. These platforms would have to reject covered contracts tied to war, terrorism, assassination, or death. Traders and companies would lose access to those products on regulated U.S. markets. The CFTC would also have to judge hard cases, including events that may be similar to those named in the bill.
Why this matters: This bill matters because it would stop regulated markets from turning war, terrorism, assassination, or death into tradeable bets. It could limit some prediction-style markets and event contracts. It could also give the CFTC clearer power to reject products that raise serious public-interest concerns. The exact reach would depend on how the agency applies terms like “similar activity” and “closely tied” in real cases.
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