Senate bans senators and staff from prediction-market trades

The Senate voted unanimously Thursday to bar senators and their staff from trading on prediction markets, approving a change to chamber rules that will be enforced by the body’s own disciplinary procedures and does not require House or presidential approval.

Lawmakers cited concerns about insider trading and national security risks tied to online platforms where users place bets on political events, policy decisions and other outcomes. Supporters described the ban as intended to prevent officials and aides from profiting on nonpublic information obtained in the course of their work.

Bernie Moreno, a Republican from Ohio who sponsored the resolution, wrote on X: ‘Serving in Congress is an honor, not a side hustle. Americans deserve to know that their leaders are here for the right reason!’ The rule will be policed under Senate procedures rather than through criminal statutes.

The change comes amid several legislative proposals in Congress to restrict prediction markets. Representative Ritchie Torres introduced the Public Integrity in Financial Prediction Markets Act of 2026 to bar federal officials from trading on such platforms. Senators Jeff Merkley and Amy Klobuchar proposed legislation to prohibit senior executive-branch officials from participating. Representatives Blake Moore and Salud Carbajal filed a bipartisan bill aimed at preventing insider trading tied to military secrets and democratic processes. Other proposals would ban sports betting on prediction markets and markets referencing terrorism, assassination, war or the death of an individual.

Scrutiny of prediction markets increased after anonymous bettors made timely, profitable trades ahead of major announcements, prompting investigators to probe possible insider activity. Last week federal prosecutors charged U.S. Army Special Forces Master Sergeant Gannon Ken Van Dyke in an alleged insider-trading scheme connected to the ouster of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. Prosecutors allege Van Dyke, who was involved in planning and executing the operation known as Operation Absolute Resolve, used his knowledge to profit on several markets and made more than $404,000 in illicit gains, according to a civil complaint filed by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

States and some private organizations have tightened rules. Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker issued an order banning state employees from using insider information to trade on prediction markets. Senator Richard Blumenthal has accused a major platform of allowing trades that benefited from national security secrets and pointed to markets that appeared to let users wager on the rescue of a U.S. service member.

Polymarket, one prominent prediction-market operator, rejected allegations of wrongdoing. Olivia Chalos, the company’s deputy chief legal officer, wrote on X that Polymarket operates in full compliance with applicable law and that its insider-trading rules follow the lines the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and courts draw for derivatives markets.

Because the Senate resolution changes only chamber rules, it does not create new criminal penalties or expand federal regulators’ authority. Sponsors of statutory bans say formal legal restrictions are needed to close gaps. Lawmakers are expected to continue debating the bills while federal investigators and regulators pursue alleged insider trading tied to prediction markets.