A dated, neutral read on ForecastEx from Rhode Island. It is a federal CFTC designated contract market for economic, climate and political forecast contracts, generally open to eligible residents and reached through an Interactive Brokers account. Information, not advice. As of April 2026.
Last reviewed 19 April 2026 · Status as of April 2026 · Information, not legal advice
ForecastEx LLC is a designated contract market and derivatives clearing organization, designated and registered by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission in June 2024, and a wholly owned subsidiary of Interactive Brokers Group. It lists Forecast Contracts on economic indicators such as the unemployment rate, the consumer price index and gross domestic product, on climate indicators such as global and United States temperature and atmospheric carbon dioxide, and on political outcomes. Because that registration is federal, the venue is available to eligible United States residents in all 50 states, including Rhode Island, for those categories. Rhode Island runs a tightly controlled gambling sector around its state lottery, but ForecastEx sits under federal commodity regulation rather than that state framework. Access runs mostly through an Interactive Brokers account. The venue lists no sports markets. A contract price is an implied probability, not a prediction, and the contracts carry a real risk of loss.
As of April 2026, ForecastEx is generally available to eligible Rhode Island residents aged 18 or older. It is a CFTC designated contract market and clearing organization, owned by Interactive Brokers, listing economic, climate and political forecast contracts only, not sports. It sits under federal regulation rather than the state lottery framework, and most retail access is through an Interactive Brokers account. Confirm the current position before you act.
Rhode Island runs one of the more tightly controlled gambling sectors in the country, built around its state lottery and a small set of licensed venues. ForecastEx sits outside that structure. It is a designated contract market and a derivatives clearing organization, designated and registered by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission in June 2024, and a wholly owned subsidiary of Interactive Brokers Group. That federal commodity framework, not Rhode Island gambling law, is what governs it, which is why it is available to eligible residents in all 50 states, Rhode Island included, for the categories it lists.
Those categories are economic and climate data and political outcomes, not sports. ForecastEx lists Forecast Contracts on indicators such as the unemployment rate, the consumer price index and gross domestic product, on climate measures such as global and United States temperature and atmospheric carbon dioxide, and on political questions. The access detail to plan around is that there is no separate retail deposit funnel at the ForecastEx site, and most retail traders reach Forecast Contracts through an Interactive Brokers account, so an Interactive Brokers account is effectively the route in for a Rhode Island resident.
Sitting under federal regulation does not make a contract safe to over trade. Forecast Contracts settle on real data and can lose you money, a price is an implied probability rather than our prediction, and we do not tip outcomes. Eligibility, the listed contracts, and the funding steps can change, so confirm the current position on ForecastEx and Interactive Brokers, and read our Rhode Island legality guide for the wider framework, before you act.
These are federally listed United States venues you can compare ForecastEx against. The list appears after the information and shows no paid placements. ForecastEx lists economic, climate and political forecast contracts, not sports. Scores are illustrative editorial examples. Confirm the current position and your eligibility before acting.
A clear regulator does not make any contract safe to over trade. Prediction markets and event contracts can lose you money. Trade only what you can afford to lose, never to chase a loss, and never with borrowed money. If it stops feeling like a choice, step back. In the United States you can call or text 1-800-GAMBLER or visit ncpgambling.org. You must be 18+ or the legal age in your region.
As of April 2026, yes, generally. ForecastEx is a CFTC designated contract market and clearing organization, available to eligible Rhode Island residents in all 50 states for economic, climate and political forecast contracts. Access is generally through an Interactive Brokers account. This is general information, not legal advice.
Not directly. ForecastEx sits under federal commodity regulation as a CFTC designated contract market, not under the Rhode Island state lottery framework, so the state gambling structure does not gate access in the way it does a sportsbook. Confirm your eligibility and the specific contract before you act.
Through an Interactive Brokers account in most cases, since ForecastEx is a wholly owned subsidiary of Interactive Brokers Group and has no separate retail deposit funnel. A Rhode Island resident would generally open or use an Interactive Brokers account and trade Forecast Contracts from there.
Forecast Contracts on economic indicators such as the unemployment rate, the consumer price index and gross domestic product, on climate indicators such as global and United States temperature and atmospheric carbon dioxide, and on political outcomes. There are no sports markets, and each contract carries a real risk of loss.
No. ForecastEx is a federally regulated exchange for forecast contracts on economic, climate and political outcomes, not a state lottery or sportsbook product, and it lists no sports. It sits under federal commodity regulation. Whatever the framing, the contracts can lose you money, so trade with care.
The position above rests on the federal designation of ForecastEx, its own contract rules, and the Interactive Brokers access route. Confirm it yourself before you act, because the rules in this area change.
Status as of April 2026. General information, not legal advice.