Republican Rep. Bryan Steil introduced legislation aimed at preventing lawmakers and their families from profiting from bets on political and policy outcomes in prediction markets.
On Thursday, Steil debuted the Stop Lawmakers from Predicting Act, which would ban lawmakers as well as their spouses and dependents from placing bets on prediction markets that involve specific government actions, policies, or political outcomes.
"The American people deserve to know their Member of Congress is not profiting off insider information. The Stop Lawmakers from Predicting Act ensures that cannot happen," Steil said in a statement. "This legislation is critical to restoring the public's trust in their elected officials. Lawmakers should be writing policy, not wagering on its outcome."
Prediction markets such as Kalshi and Polymarket have surged in popularity over the past year, fueling concerns that traders could profit from nonpublic information.
Those concerns intensified earlier this year when an anonymous Polymarket user earned more than $400,000 by wagering that Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro would be removed from power before the end of the month. Prosecutors have since arrested active-duty U.S. Army Soldier Gannon Ken Van Dyke, 38, who allegedly used confidential information to place that bet.
Last month, the Senate moved to bar itself from trading on prediction markets in an effort to block insider trading. Meanwhile, both Kalshi and Polymarket have said they have taken steps to curb insider trading.
The five-page House bill would fine lawmakers who violate its rules close to $2,000 or 10 percent of the value of the transaction, whichever is more, as well as the net gain realized from the bet. The new legislative measure would build on the Stop Insider Trading Act, which aims to block lawmakers and their families from buying publicly traded stocks.
Other bills in the House have also been introduced to block lawmakers from participating in prediction markets.