PANews reported on May 29 that the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) disclosed it has filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island to block the state from applying its gambling laws to CFTC-registered contract markets. CFTC Chairman Michael S. Selig stated that CFTC-registered exchanges face numerous lawsuits aimed at restricting U.S. participation in event trading, which undermines the CFTC's exclusive jurisdiction over prediction markets. Selig emphasized that event trading is a commodity derivative and falls entirely under the CFTC's regulatory purview. The CFTC faces similar jurisdictional challenges in states such as Arizona, Connecticut, Illinois, New York, and Minnesota. The CFTC stated that the Commodity Exchange Act grants it exclusive jurisdiction over event trading.