About this app
What is Crash or Cash?
Investors began 2026 expecting multiple rate cuts, which tend to juice capital markets and spur dealmaking activity. But on 28 February things changed quickly after joint US-Israeli attacks on Iran largely curtailed traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, the vital Middle East waterway where some 20% of the world’s oil transited before the conflict began.
Several factors weighed heavily on the decision to raise rates. The average nationwide gas price now is $4.36 compared to $3.18 a year ago, per AAA, and the average diesel price of $6.31 is a record. Brent crude oil has crested over $100 per barrel compared to about $68 a year ago. Inflation was 3.4% in August, compared to 2.9% last year. And US 10-, 20- and 30-year Treasuries have reached their highest rates in decades.
Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh assumed the top role in May, and the central bank held rates steady for all of Warsh’s first three meetings. The decision to stand pat at the start of Warsh’s tenure came despite increasing calls for a hike as inflation remains solidly above the Fed’s 2% target. Those calls became too loud to ignore, prompting the first rate hike since August 2023.
About Crash or Cash
Minister of Environment and Tourism Dr Wynter Mmolotsi called for Botswana to establish a dedicated rehabilitation facility for people experiencing gambling harm. He also suggested that the country consider systems capable of identifying extended gambling sessions, betting patterns and other potential indicators of harmful play.
“In other countries, such systems detect the time taken, every bet placed, how is the game played and thus help to curb addiction,” Mmolotsi said.
Kgatleng Central MP Mpho Morolong also said gambling should be understood as entertainment rather than a route to financial security.
About Crash or Cash
The petition poses the question of whether the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, which was enacted in 2010 in the aftermath of the Great Recession, “preempted states from regulating sports bets that occur within their jurisdictions if those bets are offered on markets registered with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission”. Prediction markets have argued that their event contracts are financial derivatives regulated by the CFTC whereas many states contend that they are simply sports bets by another name.
There is no guarantee the Supreme Court will hear the case but a separate appeals court ruling from 28 August bolsters its chances. In that case, a three-judge panel from the Ninth Circuit ruled unanimously in favour of the state of Nevada, creating a circuit court split, which is a hallmark of many Supreme Court cases.
“We’re calling on the Supreme Court to resolve this issue and recognise that Congress did not silently make the sports-betting industry immune from state law,” Davenport said in a statement.
