Feds delay review of box office trading site

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - You'll have to wait another week -- and probably a lot longer -- before you can make some money trading box office futures.

A decision that was set for April 9 has been pushed a week by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission because it is awaiting more information. That decision concerned Trend Exchange, one of two companies hoping to win government approval for their plans to set up a mechanism for what amounts to wagering on the performance of movies at the box office.

Meanwhile, Cantor Exchange could receive permission for its similar service as early as April 20, though you'd probably not want to bet on it.

The major Hollywood studios and others have been lobbying hard against both exchanges. Although their efforts are prolonging the approval process, their goal is to prevent the exchanges from ever going live.

"We appreciate the commission's decision to take additional time to review our concerns about the harm online wagering on boxoffice futures could do to our industry," said a spokesman for the lobbying arm of the major studios.