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Senators and their staff are now banned from trading on prediction markets.
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The change follows a unanimous addition to Senate rules Thursday.
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The resolution also urges the House of Representatives, the executive branch and the judiciary to do the same.
As of Thursday afternoon, the senator and his staff were unable to trade on prediction markets such as Kalshi or Polymarket.
The Senate passed a resolution amending Senate rules to ban members and Senate employees from trading prediction markets via a “voice vote” — meaning no senators objected and no formal roll call vote was taken.
The resolution was introduced last week by Ohio Republican Sen. Bernie Moreno.
“Serving in Congress is an honor, not a side job,” Moreno wrote on the X after the resolution passed. “Americans deserve to know their leaders are here for the right reasons!”
The resolution also urges the House, executive branch and judicial branch to enact similar rules.
Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour applauded the move, noting that his platform already bans members of Congress from trading.
Polymarket also wrote on X that it “fully supports” the resolution. Americans are currently banned from trading on the company’s main international exchange, although many are known to still use VPNs to trade.
The resolution comes amid widespread public concern about the risks of insider trading in prediction markets.
Lawmakers have proposed various bills to regulate the industry, some of which also ban members of Congress from trading on the platform.
Some lawmakers in the House and Senate have also considered banning their own staff from trading in prediction markets without broader changes in Senate rules. Several governors have also signed executive orders banning state employees from trading in prediction markets.
Last week, the Department of Justice Prosecution of a U.S. Soldier For exploiting confidential information about the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro to conduct lucrative trades on Polymarket.
He pleaded not guilty to the charges in federal court earlier this week, and a judge agreed to set bail at $250,000, which includes travel restrictions.
Read the original article on Business Insider
