The Senate approved the resolution by unanimous voice vote Thursday, immediately establishing a ban on prediction market betting for senators and their staffs. The measure came as a rules change, allowing it to take effect at once rather than requiring further procedural steps. The action follows scrutiny of prediction markets and comes one week after a U.S. special forces soldier was charged with using classified information to wager on events, including the capture of Venezuela's then-president, Nicolas Maduro.
Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, sponsored the resolution, stating that senators collecting taxpayer-funded paychecks should not engage in speculative betting. An amendment by Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., expanded the ban to include congressional staff members, broadening the measure beyond lawmakers alone.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., called the move a "no-brainer" and urged the House and Trump administration to adopt similar restrictions. "We must never allow Congress to turn into a casino where members representing the public can gamble on wars or economic crises or elections," Schumer said. "That would destroy the very principle of representative government."
The resolution represents a response to growing concerns about prediction markets, which have expanded significantly in recent years. Polymarket and Kalshi are among the major platforms in the space. Polymarket has faced particular criticism for hosting offshore trades beyond U.S. regulatory oversight. Earlier this month, the Associated Press reported that new accounts on Polymarket made highly specific, well-timed bets on a potential U.S.-Iran ceasefire on April 7, generating hundreds of thousands of dollars in profits.
Sens. Todd Young, R-Ind., and Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., have introduced legislation to ban all federally elected officials and government employees from using insider information for prediction market trades. Young characterized the Senate resolution as "a good first step" and encouraged broader action. On the same day the AP published its report on suspicious Polymarket activity, the White House warned staff against using private information to trade on prediction markets.
The administration has supported the prediction market industry in legal disputes with states seeking to restrict the platforms. Donald Trump Jr., the president's eldest son, serves as an adviser to both Polymarket and Kalshi. The administration is also launching Truth Predict, a cryptocurrency-based prediction market tied to the Truth Social platform.
