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Senators Ban Themselves From Betting on Prediction Markets
The Senate passed a resolution on Thursday to ban senators and staffers from trading on prediction markets, outlawing the DC insiders from gambling on real-world events on which they have the inside scoop.
The resolution takes effect immediately, meaning Senate members, staff, and officers can no longer exploit the public by using their government jobs to get rich on apps like Polymarket or Kalshi. It passed days after the Justice Department charged a U.S. Army soldier with using classified information to win hundreds of thousands of dollars betting on Nicolas Maduro’s capture.
Prediction markets operate like sportsbooks, but for global affairs. Users place wagers on things like elections, government policies, and even the weather. Of course the people making those policies should not be allowed to profit by predicting their own behavior. That’s like a Major League pitcher betting that he would throw a ball, then purposely missing the strike zone.