BlockBeats news: On January 10, according to The Block, thirty Democrats, including former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, are jointly pushing for legislation aimed at banning elected officials from making political bets in prediction markets. This move follows recent betting activities related to the potential arrest of former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
The proposal, named the "2026 Financial Prediction Market Public Integrity Act," was formally introduced on Friday by Democratic Representative Ritchie Torres from New York. According to Axios, the bill's progress was accelerated by concerns over potential insider trading, following an incident in which a user on the prediction platform Polymarket profited $400,000 by betting that Maduro would be "removed from power" by the end of the month.
Torres stated in a statement on Friday: "Imagine if a member of the Trump administration placed bets predicting events such as the ousting of Maduro. As an insider of the government and a participant in prediction markets, this person would face a corrupting temptation to use policy for personal gain." He emphasized: "Government insiders must be completely prohibited from profiting through prediction markets."