House Agriculture Subcommittee on Commodity Markets, Digital Assets, and Rural Development Chairman Dusty Johnson used his opening statement for a hearing on sports event prediction markets to frame the issue as a regulatory and legislative review rather than a policy announcement. He said the hearing would examine whether fast-growing sports-related prediction markets are functioning as legitimate derivatives markets or increasingly resemble sports betting, and whether the Commodity Futures Trading Commission has the tools needed to protect customers and maintain sound markets. Johnson said prediction markets have long been part of the CFTC's remit, citing the agency's 1988 registration relief for the Iowa Electronic Markets, but argued that technology has transformed the market's scale and reach. He said tens of billions of dollars in transactions now occur each month across registered and offshore exchanges, although event contract markets still account for only a small share of overall CFTC-regulated activity. His remarks emphasized that derivatives should serve a function such as risk management or information discovery, are not wagers, and should be assessed through the lens of customer protection and market integrity rather than product merit. He said the hearing is intended to test where existing law is working, where it may be falling short, and whether Congress needs to do more.

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