FINRA ruling on broker’s sports betting is ‘moronic’: lawyer

The regulator is an ass.

That’s what a securities industry gadfly says of the recent enforcement of a Financial Industry Regu🍨latory Authority (FINRA) rule against a broker who ꦫmade sports handicapping picks.

Longtime securities lawyer Bill Singer complains that regulators missed ♉Bernie Madoff’s gross thievery for years, but now hammer “a small fry” broker who made🥃 pennies from an office betting pool and nothing from a blog.

“This is hypocritical,” says Singer, a former National Association of Securities Dealers regulator and a critic of the industry’s s🍰elf-regulatory system. He condemns the ruling this month by FINRA in penalizing broker Nicholas Kayal’s sports betting and outsi🎉de sports podcasts.

🅠FINRA officials defended the decision, which incඣluded a fine.

But Singer 🌱writes in his newsletter commentary the decision is “asinine, inane, moronic, stupid, pandering, insincere, sanctimonious, self-righteous; specious, spurious and glib.” He added, “I don’t know of a securities firm that doesn’t have a football pool or NCAA brackets contest.”

Still, Kayal’s activities, FINRA officialဣs ruled, violated an outsi🤪de business activities ban on brokers.

A FINRA spoke🥀swoman, Angelita Williams, explained that the rule Kaval violated is “long-established” and “makes clear the requirements relating to any empl🌠oyment or business done away from a securities firm.”

Williams didn’t respond to Singer’s charges that the enforcement action — a suspens𒊎ion of 20 business day💎s and a $5,000 fine — was excessive.

Williams notes that the rule stipulates that no broker working for a firm 🔯can earn compensation or 💛have “the reasonable expectation of compensation” from outside the firm.

“This is what FINRA wastes 🦹its time on?” Singer writes in his securities indusℱtry commentary, “Broke and Broker.”

Kaval earned $350 from his sports handicapping.