Public service should never become a way to cash in on inside knowledge

I just introduced the End Prediction Market Corruption Act, a bill that bans the president, vice president, members of Congress, and senior executive branch officials from placing bets on prediction markets tied to government actions. Here's why:

Prediction markets allow people to place bets on future events — elections, political decisions, even military actions. But members of Congress and senior government officials receive all sorts of sensitive briefings and confidential information as part of our jobs. Allowing those same officials to place bets on events tied to government decisions creates a clear conflict of interest.

Recent activity on prediction markets has put this danger in the spotlight. One anonymous trader made more than $400,000 correctly predicting the removal of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro before the news became public. Around the same time, suspicious trading surged around potential military strikes and global political events.

These bets raise a serious question: who knew what — and when?

No one serving the public should have the opportunity to profit from privileged information about government actions.

Public service should never become a way to cash in on inside knowledge. It's corruption, plain and simple.

Let's get this bill passed and bring some basic integrity to these betting platforms.

Onward!

Jeff