A US Congressman has introduced a draft bill that would block his fellow lawmakers from trading in politics-related contracts on prediction market platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket.
The bill, named the Stop Lawmakers From Predicting Act, is the brainchild of Wisconsin Rep. Bryan Stiel, the Chairman of the House Administration Committee.
“Lawmakers should be writing policy, not wagering on its outcome,” Stiel wrote on X.
US politicians’ alleged use of prediction markets has stoked anger in some circles, with former Senator George Santos facing accusations of trading on his own attendance at the State of the Union address in February.
Lawmakers’ Spouses Also Face Ban from Prediction Markets
The bill proposes banning lawmakers from trading political and policy-related contracts. Non-compliance would be punishable by a fine equal to the transaction’s net gain plus $2,000, or 10% of the transaction’s value, whichever is higher.
A clause in the bill also proposes forcing lawmakers who leave office without paying up to face civil enforcement by the Justice Department.
“The American people deserve to know their member of Congress is not profiting off insider information,” said Steil.
The lawmaker said his bill was “critical to restoring public trust” in elected officials.
The bill also seeks to ban lawmakers’ spouses and children from trading politics-related contracts on prediction markets.
It also includes a clause banning officials from using public allowance funds, expense accounts, political contributions, or donations to pay fines.
In a press release, Steil’s office noted that media outlets have reported on candidates who allegedly traded contracts on the results of elections they were running in.
In April, Kalshi fined and suspended three congressional candidates who it discovered were trading contracts on the outcome of their own elections.
Earlier this month, Kalshi said it had begun requiring some users to disclose their job details before allowing them to trade on political and sports-related events.
Steil’s office said the bill builds on a previous draft law, the Stop Insider Trading Act, which the committee approved in mid-January.
Earlier this year, a blockchain analytics firm said it had discovered evidence that suspected insiders made $1.2 million trading on whether the US would launch air strikes on Iran on February 28.
JUST IN:
Six suspected insiders made $1.2M betting on a US strike on Iran
Most of these wallets:
• were funded in the last 24h
• specifically bet for February 28
• bought “yes” hours before the strike pic.twitter.com/n3G6OIEOXt— Bubblemaps (@bubblemaps) February 28, 2026
Legal Battles Still Raging
Several US states, meanwhile, are continuing legal campaigns to force prediction markets to comply with their gambling laws or stop providing services to their residents.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has hit out at these states. The CFTC claims that it alone has the power to regulate the prediction market industry.
It says that Polymarket and Kalshi contracts are not wagers, but “swaps.” The commission has already attempted to sue some states, and suggested that more lawsuits could be forthcoming.
Dozens of states have joined tribes and gambling industry officials in backing Ohio’s bid to take Kalshi to the Supreme Court.
The former CFTC Chairman, Gary Gensler, has also waded into the dispute, backing Ohio. “Sports bets are not swaps,” Gensler wrote in a legal brief earlier this month.
The post US Congressman Bids to Block Lawmakers From Trading on Prediction Markets appeared first on CasinoBeats.
A US Congressman has introduced a draft bill that would block his fellow lawmakers from trading in politics-related contracts on prediction market platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket. The bill, named the Stop Lawmakers From Predicting Act, is the brainchild of Wisconsin Rep. Bryan Stiel, the Chairman of the House Administration Committee. “Lawmakers should be writing
The post US Congressman Bids to Block Lawmakers From Trading on Prediction Markets appeared first on CasinoBeats.