Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass.,, on Wednesday announced an office-wide policy barring his congressional staff from using prediction market platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket.
“Congressional staff and the Members they work for exist to serve the constituents of the districts they represent, not to profit off of the very policy decisions and world events that we are here to respond to,” Moulton said in a statement posted to X. “My office has not, and will not, engage in these trades that run counter to every principle of a clean, honest a government that works for the people.”
A spokesperson for Moulton said he believes the policy is the first of its kind on Capitol Hill. It comes amid a wave of proposals from lawmakers seeking to rein-in prediction markets, which allow users to place bets on the outcome of a wide-range of events, from basketball games to Oscars best picture winners.
The platforms have come under intense scrutiny from some states and casinos, who argue prediction markets offer a loophole for gambling and should be state regulated. Lawmakers have also recently expressed concern about the potential for insider trading on prediction markets, in the wake of well-timed trades on world events like the ouster of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and the war in Iran.
