A new bipartisan bill introduced by Senators Todd Young (R-IN) and Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) aims to amend government ethics rules to address concerns over potential insider trading on prediction markets. The Public Integrity in Financial Prediction Markets Act of 2026 would require federal officials, including the president, vice president, members of Congress, and key staffers, to disclose details of their prediction market trades exceeding $250.
What the Bill Proposes
The legislation mandates disclosure of the value, nature, and timing of event contracts, as well as the platforms used and any profits or losses incurred. Additionally, it prohibits officials from using non-public information to profit from these trades, with violations subject to fines of $500 or twice the profit made from prohibited trades, whichever is higher.
"Our hope is that this will restore trust in the decision-making that we have here in Congress," Young said in a recent interview.
Potential Downsides
While the bill seeks to increase transparency, some experts argue that requiring detailed disclosure of individual trades may not be practical. Kedrick Payne, Vice President and Senior Director of Ethics at the Campaign Legal Center, cautioned that such disclosures could inadvertently influence market behavior or create privacy concerns for officials.
Currently, prediction markets like Kalshi already prohibit members of Congress from trading on their platforms, and the White House has issued warnings to staffers against engaging in such activities during sensitive geopolitical events, such as the Iran conflict.
The bill’s introduction comes amid growing public scrutiny of insider trading risks within government and the surging popularity of prediction markets, which allow users to bet on political, economic, and social outcomes.