Former US Senator Blanche Lincoln, who helped draft the Dodd-Frank Act, has registered as a lobbyist for the prediction market platform Kalshi. In 2024, her firm, Lincoln Policy Group, received $180,000 from the company for lobbying services related to event contract regulation.
In July 2025, Lincoln’s firm submitted comments to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), urging the agency to assert exclusive jurisdiction over all prediction markets, including sports-event contracts. This position contrasts with her 2010 statements, where she warned that such contracts could serve as a backdoor for gambling.
Kalshi’s legal strategy relies on its status as a CFTC-designated market, arguing that federal commodities law should preempt state gambling regulations. While the Third Circuit has supported this view, the Sixth and Ninth Circuits have ruled against the company, allowing states to apply local gambling laws.
Sports contracts represented approximately 77% of Kalshi's trading volume in early 2025, with that figure rising to between 80% and 90% later in the year. Lincoln has also supported the platform by filing an amicus brief in the Third Circuit as part of the ongoing legal dispute regarding state oversight.
