Death of InTrade

For John, BLUF:  Once again, innovation (and fun), is stifled by the Government bureaucracy.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

This week Reporter John Cassidy, writing in The New Yorker, informed us that the online betting business InTrade had suspended operations as of Sunday last.

For US Citizens this isn't much of a change, since the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission brought its bureaucratic weight to bear and shut down InTrade for us on 26 November 2012:

On November 26, 2012, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission filed a civil suit in federal district court in Washington, D.C. seeking an injunction against Intrade allowing U.S. citizens to trade on their site.  The US CFTC claimed that Intrade's operation interfered with the CFTC's role "to police market activity and protect market integrity".  Shortly thereafter (though not explicitly in direct response), Intrade announced it would no longer allow U.S. customers to participate in the real-money version of the site.  Intrade announced that all existing U.S.-based accounts would be suspended on December 23.

The real question is, who will liberate this marketplace for opinions, thus allowing us to run freely into the XXI Century.  Will it be a President, trying to increase freedom and free enterprise?  Will it be the US Congress, intent on reigning in bureaucracy run amok?  Or, will it be the Courts, clearly seeing the every-constricting bureaucracy, and ruling against it?  Someone, I hope!

Regards  —  Cliff