Senate Unanimously Approves Self-Imposed Ban on Prediction Market Trading
Members of the US Senate, along with their staff, are now prohibited from participating in prediction market betting following a new ban that one prominent legislator described as an obvious decision.
On Thursday, the US Senate voted without opposition to adopt a resolution prohibiting both senators and their staff members, who frequently have access to confidential information, from participating in prediction market platforms.
The measure, which passed through unanimous consent, modified the Senate's existing rules and became effective right away.
"Participating in any manner in a prediction market or attempting to wager in situations where we could have inside information erodes the trust that our constituents place in us," stated Republican Senator Bernie Moreno, the resolution's sponsor, during his remarks on the Senate floor.
"Through this amendment to the standing rules of the Senate, we are ensuring that our constituents can be certain, beyond any doubt, that neither any senator of the United States Senate nor any staff member of the United States Senate will ever exploit that inside information as a means to profit from this position in any way," he continued.
This resolution follows the recent charging of a special forces soldier who participated in the operation to apprehend former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, accused on April 23 of leveraging classified intelligence to place wagers on Polymarket, while legislators also express concerns regarding suspiciously timed betting activity related to the Iran war. The soldier has entered a not guilty plea.
Democratic Senate leader Chuck Schumer remarked during Senate floor proceedings that "among all the matters we discuss in Washington, this clearly belongs in the category of a 'no-brainer.'"
"We cannot permit Congress to become a gambling establishment where members who represent the people can place bets on armed conflicts, or financial downturns, or electoral contests," he stated.
"We need to expand these measures; while this represents a positive beginning, it's insufficient," Schumer added. "The administration along with its staff must implement these identical restrictions as well, especially this administration, which demonstrates such a concerning propensity toward corruption and self-enrichment."
Republican Representative Ashley Hinson announced on X that she plans to put forward a comparable resolution to prohibit prediction market usage in the House.
Polymarket announced on X that it wholeheartedly endorsed 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."
Tarek Mansour, co-founder and CEO of rival prediction market platform Kalshi, also celebrated the resolution in a post on X, adding that it "already proactively blocks members of Congress and enforces against insider trading."