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State Department Officials on the Secretary’s Upcoming Travel to Tonga, New Zealand, and AustraliaMODERATOR:  Great.  Thanks very much.  Good afternoon.  Thanks for joining us for this call to preview the Secretary’s upcoming travel to Tonga, New Zealand, and Australia.  Our briefers today are State Department Official One] and [State Department Official Two].  Today’s call is on background, and our briefers can be identified as State Department officials.  This call […]

Secretary Antony J. Blinken and Israeli President Isaac Herzog Before Their Meeting

Secretary Antony J. Blinken and Israeli President Isaac Herzog Before Their Meeting

PRESIDENT HERZOG:  Welcome, Mr. Secretary.  It was wonderful to see you before at the Oval Office with President Biden.  I want to thank you and I want to thank the entire U.S. administration for hosting me so graciously as we mark 75 years for Israel’s independence, a great historic moment, and of course marking the […]

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Secretary Antony J. Blinken And Bahraini Foreign Minister Dr. Abdullatif bin Rashid al-Zayani Before Their Meeting

Secretary Antony J. Blinken And Bahraini Foreign Minister Dr. Abdullatif bin Rashid al-Zayani Before Their MeetingSECRETARY BLINKEN:  Well, good morning, everyone.  It’s a great pleasure to have my friend and colleague from Bahrain, the foreign minister here.  Abdullatif, welcome back to the State Department. FOREIGN MINISTER AL-ZAYANI:  Thank you, sir. SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Bahrain, of course, is a longstanding ally and partner of the United States.  I’m particularly pleased today that we […]

Secretary Blinken’s Meeting with Bahraini Foreign Minister Al-Zayani

State Department Officials on the Secretary’s Upcoming Travel to Tonga, New Zealand, and AustraliaThe below is attributable to Spokesperson Mathew Miller: Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken met today with Bahraini Foreign Minister Dr. Abdullatif bin Rashid Al-Zayani during his visit to Washington, D.C.  Their meeting marks the culmination of the third U.S.-Bahrain Strategic Dialogue and highlights the enduring nature of the U.S.-Bahrain strategic partnership and the deepening […]

Under Secretary Jenkins Travels to Aspen, Colorado, and London, United Kingdom, July 20-27

U.S. Department of State Participates in the 19th Internet Governance ForumUnder Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Bonnie D. Jenkins will travel to Aspen, Colorado, and London, United Kingdom, from July 20-27, to advance U.S. priorities on arms control, disarmament, nonproliferation, and international security. While in Aspen, the Under Secretary will attend the Aspen Security Forum and speak at a panel on […]

Court Sides With PredictIt: CFTC Actions Are ‘Arbitrary and Capricious’

Court Sides With PredictIt: CFTC Actions Are ‘Arbitrary and Capricious’

United States Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals finds CFTC’s 2014 no-action letter constitutes a “license”

A decision issued by the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit is a striking victory for the popular prediction market platform, PredictIt (http://www.predictit.org/markets), as well as more than a dozen plaintiffs – including Aristotle, traders and academic data users – in a case against the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).

Crucially, the Court finds that under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) the no-action letter (NAL) issued to Victoria University of Wellington under which PredictIt operates is considered a “license,” and that its withdrawal in August 2022 was a “final agency action,” making the attempted withdrawal of the license reviewable in court.

According to Aristotle and PredictIt co-founder and CEO, John Phillips, in response to the decision:

“This is a sweeping victory for prediction markets like PredictIt and those who find value in the insights they provide. One of the highest courts in the country agrees that in 2014 PredictIt was issued a license to operate, and the CFTC’s attempts to take that away were unjustified.” 

The ruling remands the case to the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas with an order to enter an injunction against the CFTC and proceed with a hearing on the merits of the PredictIt plaintiff’s claims.

Major findings: 

  • The 2014 NAL and the attempts to withdraw it constitute “agency action” under the APA.
  • The 2014 NAL constitutes a license under the APA.
  • The withdrawal effort is “final action” because there is no way to appeal within the agency and beneficiaries could no longer rely on the NAL.
  • The March 2023 preliminary withdrawal letter violated the Fifth Circuit injunction and is procedurally deficient 1) because it does not provide Victoria University with an opportunity to “demonstrate or achieve compliance” as is required for revocation of a license, 2) because the reasoning provided is inadequate and 3) because the reasoning constituted a post hoc rationalization for a decision the agency had already made.

Market operator Aristotle and its partners will continue to review the implications of the Court’s decision over the coming weeks to determine the next course of action. 

Please contact [email protected] with questions. 

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Contact Information:

Lindsey Singer

Director of Public Relations

[email protected]

720-935-4452

Brandi Travis

Chief Marketing Officer

[email protected]

(270) 704-2462

Related Files
PredictIt 5th Circuit Decision.pdf

Original Source:

Court Sides With PredictIt: CFTC Actions Are ‘Arbitrary and Capricious’

Court Sides With PredictIt: CFTC Actions Are ‘Arbitrary and Capricious’

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Annual Counternarcotics Working Group Meeting with the Government of India

U.S. Department of State Participates in the 19th Internet Governance ForumOn Wednesday, July 19, the United States hosted the Government of India at the U.S. Department of State for the fourth annual U.S.-India Counternarcotics Working Group (CNWG) meeting.  The U.S. and Indian delegations addressed drug regulatory issues, law enforcement cooperation and collaboration, coordination in multilateral fora, and drug demand reduction efforts.  This year’s CNWG builds […]

Inaugural U.S.-UK Strategic Sanctions Dialogue

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