U.S. Lawmaker Introduces Bill to Ban Congressional Members from Participating in Prediction Market Betting, Watchdog Calls for Extension to All Federal Employees

BlockBeats News, June 21, U.S. Representative Bryan Steil introduced the "Prohibition of Congressional Insider Trading Act," which aims to prohibit members of Congress, their spouses, and children from betting on prediction markets related to government policies or actions. Violators will face a civil penalty of $2,000 or 10% of the transaction amount (whichever is higher) and will be required to forfeit all profits.

The government oversight organization, Project On Government Oversight (POGO), welcomed this move but believed that the scope of the bill was too narrow. POGO called for the ban to be extended to all officials and staff of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of the federal government. POGO pointed out that current laws have almost zero restrictions on conflicts of interest for federal government employees. The emergence of prediction markets has further amplified the risk of insider information abuse, leading to unfair competition and potential distortion of public policy decisions.

Currently, the approval rating of the U.S. Congress is only 24%. Regulatory gaps have already led to real-world cases: U.S. Army Special Forces officer Cannon Van Oke was charged with using classified military intelligence to profit from bets on Polymarket, with the case set to go to trial on December 7. In addition, the Anti-Corruption Data Collective found that over $9.3 million in high-yield bets were highly linked to military actions in Venezuela and Iran, raising suspicions of insider trading.

Previously, Steil's "Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act" was passed by the House Administration Committee in January but has yet to see further progress.