U.S. senators are officially banned from trading on prediction markets on platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket after the body unanimously passed a rule Thursday barring their participation in the controversial online gambling practice.
This photograph shows set up screens displaying the logo and home page of US cryptocurrency based prediction market platform Polymarket.
AFP via Getty Images
Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, introduced the resolution last week amid concerns about insider trading on the platforms, which allow people to bet on the outcome of a wide range of events, including those directly influenced by the U.S. government.
The rule change means Senators are technically barred from betting on the outcomes of specific events, but, beyond internal ethics enforcement like reprimands or censures, there’s nothing the senate can do to punish those who break the rule.
If their gambling overlaps with existing laws, however, like insider trading or fraud, the Senate Ethics Committee can refer senators to law enforcement for criminal prosecution.
‘Any Senator who came to DC to cash in, game prediction markets, or treat public office like a side hustle is betraying the oath they swore to their country,” Moreno tweeted about the resolution.
The new rule comes after a series of controversial online bets were placed on government actions—including a U.S. soldier who was recently indicted for allegedly using confidential information to win $400,000 on a Polymarket bet about the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. Polymarket said the soldier's arrest was "proof" its internal integrity system is working as designed after the company alerted federal authorities that something was awry with the soldier's account. Wagers about the Iran war have also generated massive payouts for some users—including bets on the president announcing a ceasefire with Iran right before he actually did and bets on whether the U.S. or Israel would strike Iran first—which Senator Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) called "insider trading in broad daylight." Kalshi last month issued five-year suspensions to one U.S. Senate candidate and two candidates for the House of Representative—Indepdentdent Virginia Senate candidate Mark Moran, Democratic Minnesota congressional candidate Matt Klein and former Republican Texas candidate Ezekiel Enriquez—for betting on their own campaigns.
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