The Senate Agriculture Committee has approved a bill by Arkansas Democrat Senator Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark) that proposes a ban on a box office futures exchange.

Yesterday the Commodity Futures Trading Commission approved a proposal by Cantor Exchange for a futures market that would allow individuals to trade on projected opening weekends.

Last week the commission gave the go-ahead to Media Derivatives to set up a similar market for institutional investors.

Bob Pisano, president and interim CEO of The Motion Picture Association Of America, which strongly opposed the exchanges, welcomed the Senate Agriculture Committee’s move.

“We thank Chairman Lincoln and the Committee for seeking to put an end to plans that would allow wagering on box-office futures,” Pisoano said. “We believe these plans are based on a faulty understanding of the film business and could cause real financial harm to both the film industry and other Americans drawn in by an online gaming platform that could be easily manipulated.”

Senator Lincoln’s bill seeks to tighten the regulation of derivatives and will be sent to the Senate floor and combined with other pending financial reform legislation.