Legal betting on the outcome of the U.S. congressional elections was put on hold by a federal appeals court just hours after it began.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit issued an order Thursday night temporarily freezing the matter until it considers it and issues a decision. No timetable was given.
The court took action on Thursday night, hours after a federal judge cleared the way for sole betting on American elections to be legally recognized by American jurisdictions.
U.S. District Judge Zia Cobb has allowed New York startup Karsi to begin offering money to bet on the outcome of the November election on which party will win majorities in both the House and Senate.
The company’s market went live shortly thereafter, and Karsi accepted an unknown number of bets, called “contracts.”
An order issued Thursday night halted further such bets. It was unclear Friday what would happen to those already made.
Neither Karsi nor the committee immediately responded to messages seeking comment Friday.
The ruling came after the Commodity Futures Trading Commission appealed Cobb’s ruling, warning that allowing betting on the election, even for a short period of time, would expose people to serious harm from people trying to manipulate the election for financial gain.
The price of Karsi’s so-called prediction contracts fluctuated during the afternoon and evening hours while they were live on Thursday. At one point, a bet on Republicans to win the Senate majority was priced at 76 cents, with a $100 bet paying $129. A bet on Democrats to win the House majority was priced at 63 cents, with a $100 bet paying $154.
The election category that had been listed on Thursday had disappeared from the company’s website by Friday afternoon.
Parry is a contributor to The Associated Press.
