Senate Prohibits Senators from Participating in Prediction Market Bets
The US Senate has unanimously decided to prohibit all senators and their staff from participating in bets on political prediction market platforms, such as Polymarket and Kalshi. This resolution was put forward by Republican Senator Bernie Moreno, who has also established the end-of-May deadline for the CLARITY Act.
Summary
- The Senate’s ban received unanimous support, showcasing a significant bipartisan agreement reflecting concerns about potential insider information advantages, especially as prediction market trading by political figures faced increased scrutiny in 2025.
- Kalshi stated that it already takes measures to prevent members of Congress from using its platform and characterized the Senate vote as “a significant step towards enhancing trust in markets,” indicating that the resolution formalizes existing industry practices.
- Senator Moreno’s role in authoring the ban is noteworthy, as he has been a prominent advocate for the timely passage of the CLARITY Act before the end of May, or else it risks being shelved until 2030.
The Senate unanimously approved the ban on prediction market trading by senators and their staff on May 1. As reported by crypto.news, this occurred while the CFTC was engaged in a legal dispute with states like New York, Illinois, Arizona, and Connecticut regarding prediction market jurisdiction, making the unanimous Senate vote a significant political indication that Congress views political event trading differently from the commercial prediction market activities the CFTC is defending. Kalshi confirmed its compliance with the resolution, stating that it already blocks members of Congress and adding, “This is a significant step towards enhancing trust in markets.” Crypto Integrated noted that the resolution restricts senators and their staff from betting on political events on platforms like Polymarket and Kalshi, which have attracted attention after prediction market data appeared to correlate with legislative outcomes prior to their public announcements.
As documented by crypto.news, the CFTC has maintained that prediction markets concerning political events are valid financial instruments falling under its jurisdiction rather than being classified as gambling. The resolution is rooted in a larger political discussion about whether legislators with access to non-public information possess an unfair advantage on prediction platforms, a situation that undermines the credibility of markets designed to aggregate distributed knowledge.