Louisiana AG calls CFTC chair’s claims ‘flatly false’ in prediction market fight

Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill is not backing down from a fight with Washington’s top derivatives regulator.

On November 14, 2026, she publicly described statements by CFTC Chairman Michael Selig about a federal lawsuit against her state as “flatly false.” The broader dispute is about who gets to police prediction markets, and it is turning very personal, very fast.

Murrill’s core argument is historical. She says states have regulated gambling for 250 years, and she sees no reason a federal agency should change that now.

How a state court order became a federal lawsuit

The sequence moved quickly. On November 12, Murrill obtained a temporary restraining order from a Louisiana court.

That order targeted approximately 30–32 entities offering event contracts in Louisiana without state licenses. Event contracts are bets on whether something will happen, such as an election outcome or a cultural moment, structured as tradable financial products.

The order was issued ex parte, meaning the platforms were not present to argue their side before it was granted. It required the companies to geofence Louisiana, effectively blocking users in the state, and to obtain state licenses before offering the contracts.

Just days later, the CFTC and the US Department of Justice responded with a federal lawsuit. The defendants are Murrill and Louisiana’s state gaming regulators.

According to the federal complaint, the state’s action is an attempt to impose rules on markets that Congress placed under federal oversight. The CFTC and DOJ argue that the Commodity Exchange Act, the law that governs derivatives trading in the US, preempts state regulation of markets the CFTC oversees.

Selig did not soften his language. He labeled Murrill’s lawsuit “naked lawfare and a cynical political stunt.”

Murrill’s reply matched the energy. Beyond disputing his claims, she cast the CFTC chair as an

“obsequious standard bearer”

for the prediction market industry.

Who is caught in the middle

The list of affected platforms reads like a directory of US retail trading. It includes Kalshi, Polymarket US, Robinhood, Coinbase, Gemini, and firms affiliated with Crypto.com.

The contracts in question often tie to popular cultural moments and public events. That is precisely why state regulators see them as gambling in a financial costume, and why platforms insist they are regulated derivatives.

A pattern, not a one-off

Louisiana is the 12th state to face this kind of action from the CFTC. That number tells you this is a coordinated federal strategy rather than a reaction to one aggressive attorney general.

The pattern is consistent. A state moves to regulate or block prediction markets under its gambling laws. The federal government steps in, arguing that federal derivatives law takes priority.

Murrill’s 250-year framing is an attempt to anchor the debate in that tradition. Gambling regulation has historically been a state responsibility, and she is betting that history carries weight in court.

The CFTC’s counterargument rests on the Commodity Exchange Act. If event contracts are derivatives listed on federally regulated markets, the agency argues, then the federal framework controls.

What to watch next

The calendar is packed. A federal TRO motion is set for November 17, which could determine whether the state’s order stays in effect while the larger case proceeds.

A hearing on extending the state injunction is scheduled for November 30. That puts two courts, one state and one federal, on overlapping tracks over the same set of platforms.

For the companies involved, the near-term issue is operational. The state order demands geofencing and licensing, which means either building new compliance systems for Louisiana or pulling products from the state while the litigation plays out.