Senators propose ban on US gov’t officials doing prediction market trading
Al Jazeera
The bill comes as an anonymous user on Polymarket made more than $500,000 by taking a position that the United States would strike Iran hours before it happened.
Two United States Democratic Senators are set to introduce legislation barring members of Congress, the president, and vice president from trading event contracts on prediction market platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket.
Senators Jeff Merkley, a Democrat from Oregon, and Amy Klobuchar, a Democrat from Minnesota, are set to introduce on Thursday a bill banning lawmakers from trading, according to CNBC, which first reported the story.
The legislation, if passed, would also curtail other members of the executive branch from profiting on the platforms, or face fines of at least $10,000 for each violation.
The bill also states that violators will have to pay back profits made in trades.
The legislation comes as prediction markets are in the spotlight after a few anonymous bettors profited on positions that the US would strike Iran. The bets were made on Polymarket, a platform on which traders can buy and sell anonymously, within 24 hours of the strike.
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