The U.S. Senate has approved a resolution banning senators and Senate staff from using prediction markets.
Summary
- Senate approved a rule banning members and staff from using prediction markets, with the change taking effect immediately.
- Lawmakers cited risks of insider information misuse, with Senator Bernie Moreno saying the ban protects public trust.
According to Senate proceedings, the resolution passed by unanimous consent on Thursday changed the chamber’s standing rules and took immediate effect.
Lawmakers tied the ban to the risk that officials exposed to sensitive information could profit from event contracts.
“Engaging in any way in a prediction market or trying to place bets where we might have inside information deteriorates the confidence that our constituents have in us,” Republican Senator Bernie Moreno, who introduced the resolution, said on the Senate floor.
According to him, the rule change ensures “no member of the United States Senate, no member of the staff of the United States Senate, can ever use that inside information as a way to monetize this job whatsoever.”
Ethics concerns drive Senate action on prediction markets
Recent concerns intensified after a special forces soldier involved in the plan to capture former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro was charged on April 23 with using classified information to place bets on Polymarket.
The soldier has pleaded not guilty, while lawmakers have also raised concerns over well-timed bets tied to the Iran war.
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer backed the rule change and framed the issue as a straightforward ethics matter.
“Of all the issues we debate in Washington, this falls clearly in the category of a ‘no-brainer. We must never allow Congress to turn into a casino where members representing the public can gamble on wars, or economic crises, or elections, “ Schumer said.
“We should go further; this is a good start, but not enough. The administration and its employees must apply these very same rules too, particularly this administration, which shows such a troubling affinity to corruption and self-dealing,” he added.
Reaction from the House followed soon after the Senate vote. Republican Representative Ashley Hinson said in a post on X that she would introduce a similar resolution to ban the use of prediction markets in the House.
Prediction market operators also responded to the Senate action. Polymarket said in a post on X that it fully supported the Senate resolution and noted that its terms of service “already prohibit such conduct, but codifying this into law is a step forward for the industry.”
Meanwhile, Kalshi’s Tarek Mansour also welcomed the resolution in a post on X and said Kalshi “already proactively blocks members of Congress and enforces against insider trading.”
The Senate ban lands as prediction markets face separate regulatory fights over whether event contracts should be treated as federally regulated financial products or state-regulated gambling activity.
As previously reported by crypto.news, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission has sued Wisconsin after the state filed complaints against Kalshi, Polymarket, Crypto.com, Robinhood, and Coinbase over prediction market products.
