By Richard Cowan
WASHINGTON, April 30 (Reuters) – The U.S. Senate on Thursday unanimously approved an immediate prohibition on incumbent senators, staff and other officers from using prediction markets that provide a form of gambling on real-world events.
The change in Senate rules to impose the senators’ ban was spearheaded by Republican Senator Bernie Moreno of Ohio, and an amendment by Democratic Senator Alex Padilla broadening the ban to Senate staff was included in the measure.
Senators also urged the House of Representatives and the executive and judicial branches of government to do the same.
“United States senators have no business engaging in speculative activities like prediction markets while collecting a taxpayer-funded paycheck,” Moreno said in a Senate speech in which he called for an immediate vote on the rules change.
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer endorsed the effort, saying, “We must never allow Congress to turn into a casino where members representing the public can gamble on wars or economic crises.”
On Tuesday, a U.S. Army soldier pleaded not guilty to fraud charges stemming from his $400,000 in wins after allegedly using confidential information late last year for a bet that Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro would soon be out of office.
The activity occurred just before the U.S. military operation on January 3 that resulted in his removal.
For years, Congress has been debating whether to impose a ban on lawmakers’ stock trades, which proponents characterize as insider trading. Members of Congress get closed briefings on possible military matters, for example, and know in advance the timing of legislation impacting companies might advance toward enactment.
A bipartisan stock trading ban bill had been moving ahead in the House late last year. It fell apart, however, when a committee that oversees such efforts instead advanced a partisan Republican measure that has not yet been put to a vote in the full House.
In 2012, Congress passed legislation imposing new disclosures on stock trades, which sometimes are ignored by lawmakers or filed long after deadlines.
Backers of a full ban on lawmaker stock trades estimate that 113 members of Congress made 9,261 trades involving 706 million shares during 2024 alone.
In April 2025, President Donald Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform that “This is a great time to buy!!!” hours before he announced a pause on tariffs he had imposed. The posting raised concerns that it prompted a high volume of stock market trades.
(Reporting by Richard Cowan; Editing by Alistair Bell)
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