US Senate approved the resolution on Thursday, with the House expected to follow suit next week
The US Senate passed a resolution on Thursday banning sitting US Senators, officers, and staff from betting on prediction markets.
The resolution was proposed by Senator Bernie Moreno of Ohio and passed with unanimous support.
The resolution takes effect immediately, with a similar resolution expected to be introduced in the House next week.
The ban on Senators and staff using prediction markets follows mounting concerns about the use of confidential information by political insiders to place prediction market bets on federal government actions.
“United States Senators have no business engaging in speculative activities like prediction markets while collecting a taxpayer-funded paycheck, period,” said Senator Moreno. “Serving in Congress should never be about finding new ways to profit; it should be about delivering results for the American people.”
Senator Moreno’s prediction markets resolution modifies the standing rules in the Senate to state that no member may enter into any financial deal where the outcome depends on the occurrence or non-occurrence of a specific event.
Leading prediction market operators Kalshi and Polymarket both expressed support for the Senate ban.
“Our Rulebook & Terms of Service already prohibit such conduct, but codifying this into law is a step forward for the industry,” said Polymarket.
Kalshi chief executive Tarek Mansour said on X that he applauds the Senate for passing the resolution.
“Kalshi already proactively blocks members of congress and enforces against insider trading. This is a great step to increase trust in our markets by making it an industry standard,” Mansour added. “Now, let’s pass this in the House!”