The latest report from @CNN spotlights that prediction markets like Kalshi let 18-year-olds bet real money on sports, elections, and more — but they're classified as "financial exchanges," not gambling. Addiction experts say that this has opened the door to a public health crisis among young adults. 🧵

The legal battle is headed to the Supreme Court. 41 states argue that prediction markets are skirting state gaming laws. The CFTC, backed by Trump, whose son is a paid Kalshi adviser, is fighting to keep exclusive federal jurisdiction. With dozens of conflicting court rulings nationwide, experts say SCOTUS will eventually have to settle it.

ICYMI: Key takeaways from the @nytimes investigation: "How Prediction Markets and Crypto Firms Steamrolled a Watchdog Agency." 💡The NYT found that the CFTC has been captured by the industry it is supposed to regulate. “In the past 16 months of the Trump administration, the commission has shrunk its workforce, purged career officials, sharply curtailed crypto enforcement, and helped out prediction markets at virtually every turn, The Times found.” 💡Top officials who have departed the agency in recent months have landed jobs within the industries the CFTC regulates, creating the kind of revolving door between industry and regulator that Pres. Trump once vowed to stop. 💡CFTC officials and career staff who have raised questions about enforcement have been placed on leave, barred from the office, and put under internal investigation. None of them was told what they had done wrong. Current and former agency staffers said the CFTC's workforce took away a clear message after the suspensions: "Don't cause trouble for those industries."