TechFlow News, April 22: According to The Block, New York State Attorney General Letitia James filed a lawsuit against Coinbase and Gemini on Tuesday, accusing both companies of violating New York’s gambling laws through their prediction market platforms and permitting users aged 18 to 21 to participate—whereas New York law requires participants in mobile sports betting to be at least 21 years old. The state is seeking at least $2.2 billion in damages from Coinbase and at least $1.2 billion from Gemini, as well as fines, refunds to users, and forfeiture of illicit proceeds.
In response, Paul Grewal, Coinbase’s Chief Legal Officer, stated that prediction markets fall under the regulatory authority of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), and the company will continue defending federal regulatory jurisdiction. The dispute over regulatory authority for prediction markets has now progressively entered the judicial process; the CFTC has previously sued several state governments attempting to shut down such platforms.
