A federal futures agency could override state gambling bans on cash settlement.

Evidence

Melamed’s main motivation, however, was that a federal agency could “give that edict about cash settlement” (Melamed interview). The original 1974 charter of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission preempted the laws of individual states, so if it approved cash-settled futures contracts they would no longer conflict with state gambling laws (there was no federal prohibition on gambling). — Donald MacKenzie, An Engine, Not a Camera, 762

Categorization

• QUESTION: Worth chasing: how did federal preemption of state gambling law become accepted as legitimate authority over financial contracts?
• XREF: connects to: Whether futures contracts count as wagers determined whether they were illegal. — Donald MacKenzie, An Engine, Not a Camera: How Financial…, 638