Leader Schumer Calls On Trump And House To Ban Government Officials From Wagering On Prediction Markets; No Wagering On Predicting War, Budgets, Politics, And Legislation

New York, NY - Today, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) called on the House and the administration to follow the Senate's lead and ban government officials from wagering on prediction markets.

Today, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) called on the U.S. House of Representatives and President Trump to follow the Senate's lead and ban government officials from wagering on prediction markets, after the Senate passed a resolution by prohibiting senators, staff, and chamber officers from trading on prediction market platforms. Schumer said the people who write the nation's laws, hold its secrets, and command its military should never be able to wager on the outcomes of their own work, and that the Senate's action is only a first step toward a comprehensive federal ban that closes the loophole across the entire federal government.

Prediction markets have surged in popularity over the past year, with users now betting real money on outcomes ranging from elections, to wars, to government shutdowns, to Federal Reserve interest rate decisions. The rapid growth of these platforms has been accompanied by a mounting list of insider trading concerns. At least sixteen accounts made more than $100,000 each by correctly predicting a U.S. military strike on Iran, hours before the attack became public. A U.S. Army Special Forces soldier was charged with using classified information to make more than $400,000 on bets tied to the U.S. operation to capture former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro. Just last month, three candidates running for federal office were fined and banned for betting on their own elections.

"Insiders are cashing in on classified information, on military strikes, on their own elections, while the American people are kept in the dark," said Leader Schumer. "This isn't a side hustle. This isn't a hobby. This is a national security risk, and it is antithetical to the very foundations of our democracy."

The Senate's resolution took effect immediately upon passage. But the House of Representatives, the White House, and federal agencies remain free to participate in these markets, even as their members and employees handle classified information, vote on legislation, and shape policies that move trillions of dollars across the American economy. Schumer called on the House to immediately pass a companion measure for House members and staff, and on President Trump to sign a comprehensive federal ban covering every government official, staffer, and employee across the executive branch.

"This is a no-brainer. We must never allow Congress to turn into a casino, and we shouldn't let the White House, or the West Wing, be one either," Schumer said. "Members and staff representing the public should never be able to gamble on wars, on economic crises, or on elections. The very possibility that a member's vote could be influenced by a bet is reason enough to slam this door shut."

Schumer also said prediction markets pull lawmakers and staff away from the work they were sent to Washington to do, while American families face rising costs on groceries, rent, and gas.

"We were sent here to legislate, to lower costs, raise wages, and make life better for the American people," Schumer said. "The minute a member or their staff stares at a prediction market app instead of a bill, we have lost the plot. Americans did not send us to Washington to bet on their problems. They sent us to fix them."

Schumer pointed to the Trump administration's track record of corruption and self-dealing as exactly why the ban must extend to the executive branch.

"That is a glaring conflict of interest sitting right in the West Wing," Schumer said. "When people on the inside can profit from what they know before the public knows it, we have a serious problem. It puts our troops at risk. It puts our intelligence at risk. It puts our democracy at risk. No betting on our budgets. No wagering on war. No gambling on government. It is time to stop predicting politics and start legislating."

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