Senate Committee Delays Brian Quintenz CFTC Vote Yet Again

• The Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry has delayed a Commodity Futures and Trading Commission vote yet again
• Brian Quintenz, the presidential nominee to chair the CFTC, will have to wait again for the committee vote
• It is the second time in the last week the vote has been delayed

The path to a new chair for the Commodity Futures and Trading Commission has been delayed yet again.

The Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry yesterday was scheduled to vote on Brian Quintenz’s nomination as chair of the Commodity Futures and Trading Commission (CFTC). The committee announced the vote would be delayed in the late afternoon and Quintenz was taken off the day’s agenda.

It is the second time in one week the vote has been delayed.

What’s the Hold Up?

President Donald Trump (R) nominated Quintenz for the position in February. Quintenz is a former CFTC commissioner who currently sits on the board of Kalshi.

Lydia Beyoud, a reporter for Bloomberg, noted on X that Quintenz is still Trump’s pick to head the CFTC, but the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry did not give an official reason for delaying the vote. She reported a committee spokesperson said the White House asked the panel delay the vote again.

Many in the gaming industry are keeping an eye on the potential vote, as the CFTC regulates U.S. prediction markets and Quintenz has given no indication that he will prohibit companies such as Kalshi or Robinhood from offering sports event contracts to customers.

Quintenz made it fairly clear during an early June hearing the CFTC will continue to allow brokers to offer sports event contracts to customers, unless directed by Congress or the courts to prohibit the contracts.

The law, he said, is very clear regarding derivatives contracts such as sports event trading contracts. Quintenz noted it is the job of the CFTC to uphold and defend the Commodities Exchange Act (CEA), which brokers argue preempts state attempts to regulate sports event contracts.

If appointed to the CFTC, Quintenz said he will step down from Kalshi’s board and recuse himself from any manner regarding Kalshi for one year.

Typically, at full capacity the CFTC has five commissioners, but at the moment the commission is in a state of flux. Acting Chair Caroline Pham has noted she will step down when Quintenz arrives. Commissioners Christy Goldsmith Romero and Summer Mersinger both left the CFTC in May, while Kristin Johnson will leave in late 2025.

Additionally, former full-time chair Rostin Behnam left the CFTC in February.

Who Regulates Sports Event Contracts?

Quintenz will play a key role in the future of sports event contracts, as many hoped he would change the commission’s stance on the contracts.

Brokerages offerings sports event contracts have long maintained that prediction markets can only be regulated by the CFTC and states have no say in their offerings. Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour and Kalshi officials have noted their sports event contracts differentiate from traditional sports betting as they are not played “against the house,” but traded between users who purchase contracts on either side of an outcome.

State gaming regulators maintain the markets need to be beholden to regulations, taxes, and license fees that sports betting and gaming operators are required to follow.