A Nevada Congresswoman requested the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to probe if Chairman nominee Brian Quintenz is compromised by his financial interest in the controversial prediction market trading platform Kalshi.
Key takeaways
- Nevada Rep. Dina Titus wants the CFTC to release Chairman nominee Brian Quintenz’s communications about prediction outcome markets.
- Titus is concerned Quintenz, who’s still awaiting Senate approval, won’t be impartial on regulatory decisions because he’s on Kalshi’s board.
- Kalshi has been in a legal battle with several U.S. states.
Rep. Dina Titus sent a letter to CFTC Acting Chairwoman Caroline Pham requesting the commission look into whether or not Quintenz has a conflict of interest because he serves on the board of Kalshi. Titus, who isn't in favor of Quintenz’s nomination, questioned if he violated federal law, agency procedures, regulations, or his ethical pledge before the Senate confirmation.
As co-chair of the Congressional Gaming Caucus, I am urging the @CFTC to investigate @BrianQuintenz, as the Senate considers his nomination for Chair of the CFTC.
— Dina Titus (@repdinatitus) August 4, 2025
Quintenz is currently on the board of Kalshi and holds stock options in the company, which is regulated by the…
“Specifically, I request that you release all relevant communications from or about Mr. Quintenz related to prediction markets and event contracts,” Titus wrote in the letter. “As you are aware, Mr. Quintenz is currently on the board of Kalshi and holds stock options in the company. Kalshi is a Designated Contract Market regulated by the CFTC that offers event contracts related to sports and other topics.
She added, “Since Mr. Quintenz’s nomination in February, the CFTC has taken several actions related to prediction markets that have impacted Kalshi and its competitors. This includes settling lawsuits with Kalshi, approving new prediction market platforms, and closing relevant investigations.”
Open information
Titus serves Nevada’s First District, which includes Las Vegas. She's also co-chair of the Congressional Gaming Caucus and spoke out against the Big Beautiful Bill’s new gambling tax. Now, she’s set her sights on prediction market platforms, which she calls “illegal gambling.”
In the letter to the CFTC, Titus questioned a recent Freedom of Information Act request that showed Quintenz pursued information on Kalshi’s competitors before his nomination. This came after Quintenz pledged in writing to the CFTC that he would avoid conflicts of interest surrounding Kalshi and have nothing to do with the trading company for one year.
“While I hope Mr. Quintenz is following the law and his own ethical pledge, unfortunately this agency has already proven not to be transparent, cancelling a previously announced public roundtable, ignoring my petition request, and disregarding CFTC regulations and the law by allowing the trading of event contracts on sporting events that are illegal gambling,” Titus wrote.
Decision-making concerns
The Silver State Congresswoman is concerned Quintenz won’t be impartial toward Kalshi and prediction outcome markets regarding future regulatory decisions, so Titus is requesting the CFTC release all of Quintenz’s communications on the subject. This includes his private emails and discussions with Kevin Webb, who Titus said is expected to be named Quintez’s chief of staff if he becomes commission chair.
“As the Senate considers Mr. Quintenz’s nomination to chair this important agency, it is imperative that the public fully understand the extent of his involvement regulating a sector in which he has a substantial financial interest,” Titus wrote. “I am concerned that as Chair, he will not uphold both his own ethical pledge and other laws and regulations related to conflicts of interest.”
Quintenz received President Donald Trump’s nomination earlier this year, but there’s been a hang-up in the Senate Agriculture Committee, which twice canceled his nomination vote over the last month. Quintenz served as CFTC chair in Trump’s first administration.
Kalshi under fire
Kalshi burst onto the scene during the 2024 U.S. Presidential Election and came under fire in several American states for offering political and sports outcome contracts in all 50. Nevada, Maryland, and New Jersey, along with other jurisdictions, tried to stop Kalshi from offering sports outcome markets that are similar and challenge those states’ legal, regulated, and taxed sportsbooks.
However, Kalshi fought back with multiple lawsuits. A Maryland judge ruled against Kalshi’s preliminary injunction motion last week, the trading platform's first major setback.
Kalshi claims it answers not to state agencies but the CFTC, which hasn't made hard regulatory decisions on prediction market platforms since it lost a court ruling last year.
