US Representatives Jamie Raskin and Andrea Salinas have introduced legislation to prohibit betting on elections in the United States.
The bill is the House companion to Senator Jeff Merkley’s legislation in the Senate and would amend the Commodity Exchange Act to prohibit political election wagering of any kind.
“With distrust in our electoral system at an all-time high, we must crack down on gambling in all US elections,” said Representative Raskin. “Our democracy demands reliable and transparent processes to cast ballots and tally results, not a horserace clouded by gambling odds and bets placed.
“I am proud to go all-in with Congresswoman Salinas and Senator Merkley in calling on Congress to ante up and pass this commonsense legislation.”
Representative Salinas commented: “Elections betting sets a dangerous precedent, incentivizing bad actors to try and influence or interfere with our elections systems. We cannot play roulette with our democracy by allowing this kind of wagering without a thorough accounting of the potential consequences.
“That is why I am proud to introduce legislation with Congressman Raskin and Senator Merkley that would ban individuals from gambling on our elections. I will also continue working to provide more federal resources for gambling addiction treatment and research. While sports betting and online gambling have become permanent forms of American entertainment, we must acknowledge and help mitigate the harm caused by related addictions.”
Representative Raskin backed previous efforts to ban gambling on US elections, including calling on the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to enforce an outright ban on election gambling.
In September, the CFTC filed a stay against trading platform Kalshi, temporarily delaying the company from launching US election betting markets.
A month later the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia issued a ruling in the case between the CFTC and Kalshi, allowing for betting on the outcome of elections.
According to reports cited by the Representatives, at least $930 million was wagered on the 2024 election, across two major betting platforms, including bets on the outcome of the presidential contest and House and Senate races. Other brokerages and websites offered gambling on outcomes of the 2024 election, but did not immediately disclose the total money users put at stake.
“Betting on elections degrades them from an investment in leadership to a profit-maximizing game,” said Senator Merkley. “In addition, this practice is corrupt since those betting can influence the outcome by funding late-cycle smear campaigns.
“It’s like betting on a baseball game when you control the umpire. It’s a great step forward to have House leaders like Rep. Raskin and Congresswoman Salinas take on this fight.”