Gambling, Murder and Mayhem: Welcome to the New Futures Markets of Today

Gambling, murder, and mayhem are now part of today’s CFTC-regulated financial futures markets. While mayhem has always been a feature of financial futures, you can now trade the outcome of the Super Bowl with “event contracts.” These contracts strip away any pretense and reveal themselves as straightforward bets on “The Big Game.” This isn’t trading—it’s gambling, wrapped in the guise of a financial instrument.

A week ago, Crypto.com unveiled a sports-focused version of its platform, enabling users to trade event contracts on “The Big Game.” A promotional video is pinned to the Crypto.com X/Twitter feed, and the new offering is prominently featured on the frontpage of its website.

As of Sunday night, Kalshi has paused its markets related to murder and on Monday morning the contracts had disappeared from the Kalshi site. Previously listed contracts included “Did Luigi Mangione or a family member have UnitedHealthCare insurance?,” “Will only Luigi Mangione be charged in connection with the killing of the UnitedHealthCare CEO?,” and “Will Luigi Mangione plead guilty to murder?.”

The rise of self-certified event contracts by non-traditional market participants — offering contracts serving no economic purpose beyond pure speculation — is eroding the trust and hard-earned reputation that futures markets have built in the modern trading era.