Should Government Officials Be Banned From Prediction Markets? House Oversight Says Maybe
The House Oversight Committee is considering restrictions on federal officials’ prediction-market trading amid concerns they could profit from nonpublic information. A committee memo, based on nearly 1,700 pages of documents and briefings with platforms, recommends Congress consider a blanket ban or limits on contracts tied to government decisions. It says existing laws, including the Commodity Exchange Act as amended by the STOCK Act, already prohibit officials from trading certain products using information gained through their positions. The memo credits Kalshi and Polymarket for detecting and reporting suspicious activity. The inquiry follows cases involving a soldier’s alleged Polymarket bets linked to a military operation and a former White House staffer fined for betting on presidential speeches.
