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…
Skin Gambling Plaintiffs Find Themselves Back Where They Started
January 10, 2017
Skin Gambling Plaintiffs Find Themselves Back Where They Started
By: Ifrah Law
The lawsuits against Valve Corporation are continuing their tortured procedural paths from various federal courts to state court and back again. After filing a complaint against Valve and several co-defendants in federal court, the case was ultimately dismissed. Not dissuaded, the plaintiffs refiled against Valve in state court, in King County, Washington. Yet, as of December 2016, the case is back in federal court. After…
Coalition Building to Combat Unlicensed Internet Gaming Sites
November 14, 2016
Coalition Building to Combat Unlicensed Internet Gaming Sites
By: Steven Eichorn
The NJ Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE) regulates various licensees that provide services to the online gaming industry within the state. The agency recently demonstrated its power of regulatory enforcement over the online gaming industry and its unique ability to protect consumers with its recent discovery that a licensee may have provided US residents with access to unlicensed offshore sports wagering sites via an out-of-country server…
Shutting the Valve on Skin Betting
October 26, 2016
Shutting the Valve on Skin Betting
By: Nicole Kardell
A tried and true military strategy is to cut off your enemy’s supply lines: blow up a bridge and force a retreat. The tactic works in other situations too. It is regularly used by legislators and government agencies to address what they view as problem behavior from a particular industry. Instead of targeting the industry, they go after a major supplier, stakeholder, or intermediary. Want…
An Esports Slam Dunk: What the NBA’s Investment in Esports Means
October 20, 2016
An Esports Slam Dunk: What the NBA’s Investment in Esports Means
By: Ifrah Law
On September 26, 2016, the Philadelphia 76ers announced that they had acquired two leading eSports teams, Team Dignitas and Team Apex. Not to be outdone, the next day Team Liquid announced they had sold a controlling share to Golden State Warriors co-owner Peter Guber and entrepreneur Ted Leonsis, who is the majority owner of the private company that owns the Washington Wizards. The Sixers, Guber,…
A Bank is a Bank
August 15, 2016
A Bank is a Bank
By: Steven Eichorn
Do you remember when I wrote about how a federal district court had ruled that an online poker account was akin to a bank account and should therefore be subject to FBAR reporting? It seemed nonsense to me at the time—and I also worried about whether the court’s expanded definition of a “financial institution” would be applied to other types of escrow accounts beyond gaming….
