A resolution to ban U.S. Senators from gambling through prediction markets on whether real-world events will or won’t happen passed unanimously this afternoon. The change in the rules for U.S. Senators is sponsored by Ohio’s freshman senator, Republican Bernie Moreno.
Moreno said he had an important reason for introducing the resolution.
“One of the things we can all agree on is that Congress needs to rebuild its trust among the American people," Moreno said in an interview. "Our approval rating is somewhere near Jeffrey Dahmer's approval rating. And we need to rebuild it brick by brick.”
Moreno said he and his fellow lawmakers have no business engaging in speculative activities as a way to make money while getting a government paycheck: “If you're a member of Congress, a Senator or a House member, you should not be in the prediction market at all. Should not be allowed to log in.”
The resolution passed the Senate unanimously Thursday. It's not a law, but a change in rules for the U.S. Senate, and bans all senators and their staff members from engaging in prediction markets. Moreno said he expected Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-IA02) to introduce a resolution mirroring that one but covering members of the U.S. House and their staffs. One was introduced Thursday by Rep. Dina Titus (D-NV01), and a similar resolution was proposed in January by Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY15).
Polymarket and Kalshi, perhaps the two best known prediction markets, had supported the idea. Kalshi's CEO Tarek Mansour said in a post on X: "Kalshi already proactively blocks members of congress and enforces against insider trading. This is a great step to increase trust in our markets by making it." On April 22, Kalshi suspended a U.S. Senate candidate and two candidates for the U.S. House for political insider trading on their own campaigns.
Moreno is a strong supporter of President Trump, who has said he was never much in favor of prediction markets. But his Truth Social company is launching its own prediction trading platform, and his older son Donald Trump Jr. is a key adviser to both Polymarket and Kalshi.
