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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…
Florida’s Sweepstakes Law Takes Aim at Dubious Sweepstakes Run by Non-Profits – Legislative Fix Has Broad, Unintended Consequences
July 1, 2014
Florida’s Sweepstakes Law Takes Aim at Dubious Sweepstakes Run by Non-Profits – Legislative Fix Has Broad, Unintended Consequences
By: Michelle Cohen
Florida continues to lead the fight against illegal gambling in Internet cafes. In 2013, state and federal agents arrested dozens of individuals associated with Internet sweepstakes cafes operated by the “Allied Veterans of the World & Affiliates,” a purported charitable group. These Internet cafes operated under a potential legal loophole. Patrons were supposedly buying Internet time during which, proponents claimed, they were also playing…
Supreme Court Denies Cert. in New Jersey Sports Betting Case
July 1, 2014
Supreme Court Denies Cert. in New Jersey Sports Betting Case
By: Ifrah Law
On June 23, the United States Supreme Court denied New Jersey’s petition for a writ of certiorari to hear an appeal from lower court decisions that invalidated its sports wagering law. This ends a three year fight to bring sports betting to New Jersey’s casinos and racetracks, but NJ State Senator Raymond Lesniak, who has spearheaded efforts to bring sports betting to the state has vowed…
Why Is Casino Gaming Excluded from Online Gaming Proposals?
June 30, 2014
Why Is Casino Gaming Excluded from Online Gaming Proposals?
By: Ifrah Law
Now that three states—Delaware, Nevada, and New Jersey—have successfully launched online gaming, there is a flurry of proposed legislation as other U.S. jurisdictions seek to get in on the action. A surprising number of the proposals seek to limit gaming to poker alone, forbidding real-money online casino games such as slots and blackjack. Such proposals have been floated in California, Pennsylvania, and even by the…
Court Decision Good for Poker, Bad for Bottom Feeding Plaintiffs
June 30, 2014
Court Decision Good for Poker, Bad for Bottom Feeding Plaintiffs
By: Ifrah Law
On Friday, a New Jersey state court judge threw out a lawsuit brought against the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa in Atlantic City by six men who alleged that the Borgata was negligent in running a tournament in the 2014 Borgata Winter Poker Open which was cancelled after counterfeit poker chips were discovered in circulation. After the Big Stack, No Limit Hold ‘Em tournament…
Bovada Poker Exits Regulated Markets
June 26, 2014
Bovada Poker Exits Regulated Markets
By: Ifrah Law
In April the state of New Jersey issued warning letters to online gaming affiliate marketers who advertised unlicensed gaming websites in-state. Now, one unlicensed operator is taking the warning to heart and withdrawing from regulated markets. Bovada, the largest online poker site in the U.S., will no longer be accepting new players from the regulated gaming jurisdictions of Nevada and Delaware. Bovada ceased doing business…
