Insights < BACK TO ALL INSIGHTS
CFTC Opens the Door for Passive Software Providers in Derivatives Markets?
FEATURED
September 28, 2026
CFTC Opens the Door for Passive Software Providers in Derivatives Markets?
By: John Mikuta
In a new no-action letter, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) recently opened the door for software developers building software to facilitate trading in derivatives and futures. The CFTC’s Market Participants Division (“MPD”) issued a no-action position providing that it would not recommend bringing an enforcement action against a “passive software provider,” or “PSP”, for failing to register as an introducing broker (“IB”) or associated person of an IB under the Commodity Exchange Act (“CEA”).[1] As background, the CEA requires any person who, for compensation or profit, “is engaged in soliciting and in accepting orders” for futures and swaps to register as an IB.[2] Individuals performing that work for an IB must also register themselves as associated persons.[3] The CFTC…
Trust the Future You Trade: Lessons About Prediction Market Surveillance from the DACOM Summit
September 23, 2026
Trust the Future You Trade: Lessons About Prediction Market Surveillance from the DACOM Summit
By: John Mikuta
Prediction markets are no longer a niche offering confined to a small corner of the internet. The rapid growth of prediction markets has launched them into the mainstream as a meaningful part of the financial ecosystem. But with that growth comes many of the same market integrity and compliance challenges that more traditional financial markets have long encountered. Prediction markets have faced public scrutiny over…
High Wire Act
September 22, 2026
High Wire Act
By: James Trusty
The federal statute known as the Wire Act (18 U.S.C. § 1084) has had a tumultuous history. For many years, the DOJ interpreted it to include restrictions on both sporting events and non-sporting contests. That changed dramatically in 2011, when the Office of Legal Counsel (“OLC”), responding to states seeking clarification before establishing state lotteries, published an analysis of the Wire Act. After a thorough…
What About Gaming? The House Passes the SAFE Banking Act, Putting Cannabis Ahead of Regulated Gambling
September 26, 2019
What About Gaming? The House Passes the SAFE Banking Act, Putting Cannabis Ahead of Regulated Gambling
By: Ifrah Law
The inability to secure banking services has created enormous difficulties for state level, legal cannabis industries. Eleven states and the District of Columbia have legalized the recreational use of marijuana, and a majority of states also have legal medical marijuana programs. Nonetheless, “marihuana” remains a Schedule I controlled substance under the Controlled Substances Act and its sale or possession can be a federal crime. As a…
A Comeback Victory: Appeals Court Says Monmouth Park Owner is Entitled to Recover Damages from NCAA and Sports Leagues
September 24, 2019
A Comeback Victory: Appeals Court Says Monmouth Park Owner is Entitled to Recover Damages from NCAA and Sports Leagues
By: Ifrah Law
It has been over a year since the Supreme Court found that the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) was unconstitutional in Murphy v. NCAA, and countless states have legalized sports gambling in the time since, but the legal fallout from the Murphy case is still weaving its way from the courts. Early in the Murphy case, when the sports leagues and NCAA requested…
North Carolina on the Verge of Legal Sports Betting
July 29, 2019
North Carolina on the Verge of Legal Sports Betting
By: Ifrah Law
In April, I spoke to the North Carolina Bar Association concerning the future of sports betting in the state. At the time, a bill to legalize sports betting was making its way through the legislative process. Last week, the North Carolina legislature finally passed a bill authorizing sports wagering at the state’s two Eastern Band of Cherokee Indian casinos. The bill explicitly adds sports betting…
New Hampshire Federal Court Finds Wire Act Is Limited to Gambling on Sporting Events
June 4, 2019
New Hampshire Federal Court Finds Wire Act Is Limited to Gambling on Sporting Events
By: Ifrah Law
On June 3, 2019, Judge Paul Barbadoro of the United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire issued a 60-page opinion holding that the Wire Act is limited to sports gambling. Judge Barbadoro’s opinion resolved litigation between the New Hampshire Lottery Commission, its service provider (NeoPollard), and the Department of Justice (DOJ), over a 2018 opinion by the DOJ’s Office of Legal Counsel…
Coming to a Theater (Device) Near You: Legalized Sports Betting and Enhanced Player Data Team Up to Save Professional Sports
May 10, 2019
Coming to a Theater (Device) Near You: Legalized Sports Betting and Enhanced Player Data Team Up to Save Professional Sports
By: Nicole Kardell
Professional sports as an industry has a money problem. Game attendance across sports has been on the decline in recent years. Viewership has been on a downward trajectory as has traditional advertising. But two superheroes have appeared on the horizon to help turn things around. And if they team up, Avengers-style, they could benefit all stakeholders in the sports industry: from leagues to teams to…
