U.S. lawmakers this week filed a second bill aimed at stopping government officials from trading on prediction markets after growing concern about wagers on platforms such as Kalshi and Polymarket. Senators Todd Young, Elissa Slotkin, John Curtis and Adam Schiff introduced the bipartisan Public Integrity in Financial Prediction Markets Act of 2026. Slotkin said the proposal is an important first step with “real teeth,” arguing that no one should profit from information gained as a public servant.
The measure would prohibit officials from using nonpublic government information to trade prediction market contracts. Drafted in the second session of the 119th Congress, the bill covers the president, vice president, members of Congress, political appointees and employees of executive or independent regulatory agencies.
Insider information is defined broadly as any nonpublic fact a reasonable investor would view as material when deciding whether to buy or sell a prediction market contract. The bill would also require officials to report wagers over $250 within 30 days to their supervising ethics office, including the number of contracts, price, date and time, contract name, position taken, trading platform and any profit or loss.
Penalties would equal the greater of $500 or twice the profit earned from the prediction market contract.
This effort follows an earlier House proposal, the PREDICT Act, introduced by Representatives Adrian Smith and Nikki Budzinski, which targets insider trading on prediction markets tied to political events, policy decisions and other government actions. Lawmakers and platform operators have both stepped up scrutiny: Kalshi and Polymarket have adjusted policies and user restrictions to deter insider wagering.
The debate reflects broader unease that prediction markets, by linking bets to real-world government outcomes, could create a new channel for officials to monetize nonpublic information and blur the line between ordinary wagers and financial misconduct.