Us Lawmaker’s Bill Targets Political Prediction Bets After Maduro
The bill came after a Polymarket user netted more than $400,000 on a contract related to the removal of then-Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, fueling concerns about insider trading.
A US lawmaker has introduced legislation to restrict politically related prediction market trading by government insiders after a Polymarket user earned more than $400,000 on a contract tied to the removal of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro — a bet placed days before US forces captured the longtime leader in a dramatic military operation.
New York Representative Ritchie Torres said the trade highlighted the risk of insider trading and conflicts of interest when elected officials and government staff participate in political prediction markets. In a Friday notice, Torres said he had introduced the Public Integrity in Financial Prediction Markets Act of 2026.
The bill would bar federal officials and congressional staff from trading prediction market contracts linked to government actions or political outcomes when they possess, or could reasonably access, material nonpublic information through their official duties.
According to the New York representative, the bill would prohibit “federal elected officials, political appointees, Executive Branch employees, and congressional staff from buying, selling, or exchanging prediction market contracts tied to government policy, government action, or political outcomes when they possess material nonpublic information or could reasonably obtain such information through their official duties.”
“The most corrupt corner of Washington, DC may well be the intersection of prediction markets and the federal government — where insider trading and self-dealing are no longer imagined risks but demonstrated dangers,” said Torres. “We ignore this plain-sight corruption at our own peril.”
The bill came less than a week after a Polymarket account placed a $32,000 bet on a contract predicting that Maduro would be removed from power by Jan. 31. US President Donald Trump announced on Saturday that US forces had entered Venezuela and captured Maduro to face criminal charges in New York.
Related: Polymarket user who won $400K on Maduro ouster bet quietly disappears
The bet, which netted the unknown user more than $400,000, raised concerns over insider trading on the platform. In introducing the bill, Torres signaled that allowing an elected official to use platforms like Polymarket or Kalshi could incentivize him to “personally push policies
Source: CoinTelegraph
