Senate quietly bans lawmakers from betting on prediction markets

Senators can no longer use insider information to profit on emerging prediction market platforms.

The Senate, before leaving Washington, D.C., for a weeklong recess, quietly passed legislation that would prevent senators and their staff from betting on prediction markets like Kalshi and Polymarket.

On those platforms, users can bet on nearly anything, from world events and political races to the outcome of a war or whether a notable figure will get a divorce.

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The move, pushed by Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, passed the upper chamber unanimously and immediately changed the Senate’s rules.

Moreno said his legislation was meant to erase concerns of “side hustles” by lawmakers and increase faith in the institution. It comes as lawmakers have tried and failed to police themselves with bans on stock trading while in office.

“I don’t believe we should trade stocks at all. It’s completely insane,” Moreno said. “I think we should focus on our jobs and have our voters go, ‘Hey, this guy’s voting this way, because this is the right thing for the state.’”

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Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., lauded the move on the Senate floor and called for similar guardrails to be installed in the House.

“Speaker Johnson should immediately do the same thing in the House,” Schumer said.

There is an effort bubbling in the House to do the same, led by Rep. Ashley Hinson, R-Iowa, who is running to replace retiring Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa.

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The most popular prediction market companies are backing the move, too. Polymarket said in a statement on X, “We’re in full support of this.”

“Our Rulebook & Terms of Service already prohibit such conduct, but codifying this into law is a step forward for the industry,” the company said. “Happy to help move this forward however we can.”

Tarek Mansour, the co-founder of Kalshi, similarly pushed for the House to do the same.

“Kalshi already proactively blocks members of Congress and enforces against insider trading,” Mansour said on X. “This is a great step to increase trust in our markets by making it an industry standard.”