Nancy Pelosi and 30 other Democrats just threw their support behind a new bill that aims at preventing federal officials from betting on political prediction markets. They say it’s about closing an ethical gap that’s popped up with these online betting sites.
Rep. Ritchie Torres from New York introduced the bill, called the Public Integrity in Financial Prediction Markets Act of 2026.
The idea is to keep lawmakers, political appointees, executive-branch workers, and congressional staff from trading on prediction markets tied to government policy or politics, especially when they have access to information the public doesn’t know about or could easily get through their jobs.
Prediction markets, those online sites where people bet on real-world events, often with crypto, have gotten a lot more popular lately.
Platforms like Polymarket and Kalshi let users wager on everything from who’s going to win an election to what kind of policy moves might be coming, and even international affairs.
Sparked by Controversy
Everything kicked off when someone made a bold bet on Polymarket right before the U.S. swooped in and captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
This account wagered that Maduro would be out by January 31, and when U.S. forces actually caught him just hours later, the trader reportedly walked away with $400,000.
That kind of timing and the huge payout got people talking. Critics started raising alarms about possible insider trading, wondering if someone with inside knowledge took advantage, even though nobody knows who placed the bet.
When Rep. Torres rolled out the new bill, he didn’t mince words. He said Washington can’t just sit back and let government insiders cash in at the crossroads of public policy and prediction markets.
In his words, “The most corrupt corner of Washington, D.C., may well be the intersection of prediction markets and the federal government, where insider trading and self-dealing are no longer imagined risks but demonstrated dangers.”
More News: Kalshi Unveils Tokenized Prediction Markets on Solana
What the Bill Would Do
The proposed law stops federal elected officials, political appointees, executive branch employees, and congressional staff from betting on prediction markets tied to political or government results, especially if they have access to inside information from their jobs.
Lawmakers want to treat these bets the same way insider trading works in financial markets. Supporters say this is needed because prediction markets aren’t really covered by existing rules.
Sure, insider trading is illegal in the stock market under laws like the STOCK Act, but when it comes to prediction markets, things are still murky. This bill aims to clear that up.
Support from Industry and Politics
Some folks in the fintech world are backing the bill. Kalshi’s CEO, Tarek Mansour, even spoke up for it.
He says his company already has tough insider-trading rules, and he’s all for clearer laws around prediction market ethics.
Right now, a lot of House Democrats, including Pelosi, are behind the measure. But honestly, it’s still unclear how Republicans will react or if the bill will make it through Congress. The sponsors say they’re ready to work with both sides.
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