Schumer: House, White House must ban prediction markets bets
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (N.Y.) is calling on the House and White House to follow the Senate’s lead and ban government officials from placing bets on prediction markets, which he says poses a serious national security risk.
The Democratic leader noted that 16 accounts made more than $100,000 each by correctly predicting a U.S. military strike on Iran hours before the attack became known to the public.
And he pointed out that a U.S. Army Special Forces soldier was charged recently with using classified information to make more than $400,000 on bets tied to the U.S. operation to capture former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
Last month, three candidates running for federal office in Virginia, Texas and Minnesota were fined and banned by the prediction market Kalshi for making trades on their own races.
“Insiders are cashing in on classified information, on military strikes, on their own elections, while the American people are kept in the dark,” Schumer said in a statement issued Sunday. “This isn’t a side hustle. This isn’t a hobby. This is a national security risk, and it is antithetical to the very foundations of our democracy.”
The Senate last Thursday passed by unanimous consent a resolution sponsored by Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio) prohibiting senators and Senate staff from trading on prediction markets.
The White House earlier this month warned staffers not to use insider information to make bets on sites such as Kalshi and Polymarket.
Even so, Schumer says that employees at the White House, federal agencies and the House of Representatives are still able to legally participate in these betting markets, despite having access to classified information and the ability to influence or know in advance how lawmakers will vote.
The Democratic leader is calling on the House to immediately pass a companion measure to ban House members and staff from wagering in prediction markets, and he is urging President Trump to sign a comprehensive federal ban covering every government official, staffer and employee across the executive branch.
“This is a no-brainer. We must never allow Congress to turn into a casino, and we shouldn’t let the White House, or the West Wing, be one either,” Schumer said.
“Members and staff representing the public should never be able to gamble on wars, on economic crises, or on elections. The very possibility that a member’s vote could be influenced by a bet is reason enough to slam this door shut,” he argued.
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