Lawmakers in the United States have introduced another bill to ban prediction markets on government actions, war and events that they claim are “ripe for rigging.”
US Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and US Representative Greg Casar (D-Texas-35) this week introduced the Banning Event Trading on Sensitive Operations and Federal Functions (BETS OFF) Act, bicameral legislation to ban wagering on government actions, terrorism, war, assassination, and events where an individual knows or controls the outcome.
The bill also amends existing laws against illegal gambling to enforce these rules by shutting down payment systems to illegal online platforms and imposing criminal penalties for people in the US who “promote, manage, own, or supervise” these businesses domestically.
“There’s no getting around the fact that any prediction market where somebody knows or controls the outcome of a bet is ripe for corruption,” said Senator Murphy. “Even worse, prediction markets are also an avenue by which government decisions get influenced by who’s making money off them, and that should be unforgivable to the American public.
“When events that involve good and evil, life and death become just another financial product, morality no longer matters and the soul of America is fundamentally corrupted. This bill will stop the transformation of our society into a rigged video game casino by banning the prediction markets that allow the powerful insiders to get rich by commodifying every part of our lives.”
Representative Casar added: “America is facing a crisis of corruption, and today’s bill is about cracking down on one of the most dangerous new forms of corruption infecting our government. Too often, prediction markets are becoming yet another place for rich and powerful people to cash in on insider information. This bill will put a stop to that.”
The bill is co-sponsored by US Senator John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.) and Representatives Yassamin Ansari (D-Ariz.-03), Gabe Amo (D-R.I.-01) and Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.-12) in the House.
“It’s common sense: people shouldn’t be allowed to bet on war or other government actions. Period,” said Senator Hickenlooper.
Representative Ansari said: “Prediction markets sell themselves as a place where everyone has an equal shot at winning big. The reality is they’re rigged against ordinary people and ripe for abuse – especially when betting on government actions.
“When the President and national security officials are making life and death decisions, the last thing they should be considering is whether they can personally profit. This bill puts an end to that corruption and disturbing national security risk.”
Representative Amo added: “The people entrusted with our nation’s most sensitive secrets and our service members’ lives should not be able to gamble on outcomes they influence. It’s a blatant conflict of interest and the height of unethical behavior. I’m proud to introduce the BETS Off Act to stop betting markets from facilitating powerful politicians and their pawns from putting their personal enrichment over the public’s trust.”
Similar legislation was introduced last week to ban event contracts related to war, death and military action, with Senators Richard Blumenthal and Andy Kim introducing the Prediction Markets Security and Integrity Act, and Representative Mike Levin and Senator Adam Schiff introducing the Death Bets Act.
Representatives Blake Moore and Salud Carbajal also introduced the Event Contract Enforcement Act earlier this month.