{"id":74316,"date":"2026-06-20T22:03:52","date_gmt":"2026-06-20T22:03:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/gop-bill-targets-congress-betting-on-kalshi-and-polymarket\/"},"modified":"2026-06-20T22:03:52","modified_gmt":"2026-06-20T22:03:52","slug":"gop-bill-targets-congress-betting-on-kalshi-and-polymarket","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/gop-bill-targets-congress-betting-on-kalshi-and-polymarket\/","title":{"rendered":"GOP Bill Targets Congress Betting on Kalshi and Polymarket"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><b>(Originally posted on : Bitcoin News )<\/b><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight:400\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"@container mb-[25px] rounded-sm overflow-clip py-0.5 pr-0.5 pl-2.5 bg-success-100\">\n<div class=\"flex flex-col gap-m overflow-clip rounded-[6px] !bg-success-10 p-3 @[420px]:p-m\">\n<h2 class=\"m-0 flex items-center gap-s text-[19px] !text-[#1c1c1c] md:text-[20px]\"><svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"16\" height=\"10\" viewbox=\"0 0 16 10\" fill=\"none\" class=\"shrink-0 text-success-100\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><path d=\"M1 1.5h14\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2.5\" stroke-linecap=\"round\"\/><path d=\"M1 8.5h10\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2.5\" stroke-linecap=\"round\"\/><\/svg><span>Key Takeaways<\/span><\/h2>\n<ul class=\"m-0 flex list-none flex-col gap-m pl-0\">\n<li class=\"m-0 flex items-start gap-s !text-[#434248]\"><span class=\"mt-2 size-2 shrink-0 rounded-full bg-success-100\" aria-hidden=\"true\"\/><span class=\"text-body\">Rep. Bryan Steil\u2019s bill would bar House members and families from political bets on Kalshi and Polymarket.<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"m-0 flex items-start gap-s !text-[#434248]\"><span class=\"mt-2 size-2 shrink-0 rounded-full bg-success-100\" aria-hidden=\"true\"\/><span class=\"text-body\">Violators face a penalty of at least $2,000 or 10% of the trade, plus forfeiture of net profits.<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"m-0 flex items-start gap-s !text-[#434248]\"><span class=\"mt-2 size-2 shrink-0 rounded-full bg-success-100\" aria-hidden=\"true\"\/><span class=\"text-body\">Speaker Johnson and Trump back the measure, which echoes a Senate rule passed earlier in 2026.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight:400\">A New Line Between Lawmaking and Betting<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight:400\">Rep. Bryan Steil (R-Wis.), chairman of the Committee on House Administration, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.banklesstimes.com\/articles\/2026\/06\/19\/rep-bryan-steil-unveils-bill-to-ban-lawmakers-family-bets-on-political-prediction-markets\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight:400\">unveiled the measure<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight:400\"> recently, framing it as a basic ethics guardrail. \u201cIt is inappropriate for members of Congress to trade on the outcomes of elections or public policy,\u201d Steil said. The bill targets a fast-growing corner of the market where users can wager real money on whether a specific government policy, government action or political outcome will happen.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight:400\">Under the legislation, House members, their spouses and their dependent children would be prohibited from placing such bets. Crucially, the ban is narrow, covering wagers on political and policy events (including anything that came to a lawmaker\u2019s attention through their congressional service) while still permitting bets on unrelated events such as sports.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_824525\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-824525\" style=\"width:591px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-824525\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Image source: X<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight:400\">Violators stand to face a penalty of <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxbusiness.com\/politics\/new-bill-would-ban-lawmakers-families-from-betting-prediction-markets\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight:400\">at least $2,000<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight:400\"> or 10% of the trade\u2019s value, whichever is higher, and would have to forfeit any net profits from the wager. Lawmakers would also be barred from using office funds or campaign money to pay those penalties, closing an obvious loophole.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight:400\">The proposal arrives amidst notable political backing, with House Speaker Mike Johnson and President Donald Trump both supporting the measure. The move mirrors a step the Senate took earlier this year, when it <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/news.bgov.com\/bloomberg-government-news\/house-republican-seeks-to-ban-members-from-prediction-markets\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight:400\">adopted a rule<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight:400\"> barring senators and their staff from betting on <span>prediction markets<\/span>. <\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight:400\">A Market Under Mounting Scrutiny<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight:400\">The bill comes into the fore as <span>prediction markets<\/span> have continued to face pressure on multiple fronts. Most recently, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bitcoin.com\/\" class=\"lar_link lar_link_outgoing\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Bitcoin.com<\/a> News reported that the House Oversight Committee, led by Rep. James Comer, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/news.bitcoin.com\/house-oversight-committee-launches-probe-into-polymarket-and-kalshi-over-insider-trading\/\"><span style=\"font-weight:400\">launched a probe<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight:400\"> into Polymarket and Kalshi over insider-trading safeguards, with Comer calling the space a \u201cwild west\u201d where \u201cthere are no rules.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight:400\">The platforms have also drawn state-level challenges with <a href=\"https:\/\/news.bitcoin.com\/kalshi-sues-minnesota-prediction-market-felony-ban-2026\/\">Kalshi <\/a><\/span><span style=\"font-weight:400\">suing Minnesota<\/span><span style=\"font-weight:400\"> to block the first US felony ban on <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bitcoin.com\/get-started\/what-are-prediction-markets\/\" class=\"lar_link lar_link_outgoing\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">prediction markets<\/a>, arguing the contracts are federally regulated derivatives under exclusive Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) oversight.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight:400\">In all of this, the stakes seem to be substantial, given the sector has grown explosively, with Polymarket and Kalshi together clearing a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/news.bitcoin.com\/prediction-market-boom-continues-with-polymarket-and-kalshi-leading-25-7b-month\/\"><span style=\"font-weight:400\">$25.7 billion month<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight:400\"> in April, turning what was once a niche corner of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bitcoin.com\/get-started\/a-quick-introduction-to-crypto\/\" class=\"lar_link lar_link_outgoing\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">crypto<\/a> into a mainstream venue for wagering on news. <\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight:400\">Why Congress Is Worried<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight:400\">The concern animating Steil\u2019s bill is straightforward, i.e. members of Congress routinely possess nonpublic information about whether legislation will pass, how agencies will act and when policy will shift. A liquid market that pays out on exactly those outcomes creates an obvious temptation to trade (making it the political-policy equivalent of insider trading in equities, which is already illegal for lawmakers under separate rules).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight:400\">By carving out sports and other unrelated events, the bill tries to thread a needle, restricting the bets most prone to abuse without banning <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bitcoin.com\/get-started\/what-are-prediction-markets\/\" class=\"lar_link lar_link_outgoing\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">prediction markets<\/a> outright. Whether that distinction holds up in practice and how it would be enforced across spouses\/adult children will be interesting to watch.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Looking ahead, th<span style=\"font-weight:400\">e Stop Lawmakers from Predicting Act faces an arduous journey of going through committee first and then a floor vote, even though the backing of the speaker and the president gives it unusual early momentum. <\/span><\/p>\n<p> <!-- --><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/news.bitcoin.com\/steil-bill-ban-congress-prediction-markets-2026\/\">Source link <\/a><br \/>\n<br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>(Originally posted on : Bitcoin News ) Key Takeaways Rep. Bryan Steil\u2019s bill would bar House members and families from political bets on Kalshi and Polymarket. Violators face a penalty of at least $2,000 or 10% of the trade, plus forfeiture of net profits. Speaker Johnson and Trump back the measure, which echoes a Senate [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3947362404,"featured_media":74317,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[32],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74316"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3947362404"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=74316"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74316\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/74317"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=74316"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=74316"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=74316"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}