Betting on wildfires

Betting on the wildfires threatening our communities? It's just plain wrong.

Here's what's happening: prediction markets now let people bet on wildfires as they burn. Not just whether a fire gets contained, but how far it spreads, how many structures it destroys, whether it reaches a specific town.

While families in Southern California were evacuating the Eaton and Palisades fires last year, people were on these platforms wagering real money on the destruction, nearly $1.2 million on those two fires alone. Fire experts have raised something disturbing: if you can win money betting on whether a fire spreads, what's to stop someone from setting one?

This is why I wrote the End Prediction Market Corruption Act, and why I'm pushing for stronger oversight of this industry overall.

Prediction markets have exploded with almost no rules. We've already seen the danger with insider trading tied to government decisions — like the recent story about Trump's teleprompter operator making over $100k by betting on the substance of his speeches. Now we're watching an industry turn people's homes and safety into a betting line.

Firefighters risk their lives to protect our communities. Families spend years building them. None of that belongs on a betting app.

It's time Congress brought basic oversight to these platforms.

Onward!

Jeff