The U.S. Senate on Thursday approved a change to its rules that immediately bars current senators, Senate staff and other officers from engaging in prediction markets that function as a form of gambling on real-world events. The change passed unanimously and takes effect without delay.
Republican Senator Bernie Moreno of Ohio led the push for the ban and called for an immediate vote to implement the restriction. An amendment offered by Democratic Senator Alex Padilla widened the scope of the prohibition to include Senate staff, and that amendment was incorporated into the final measure.
Lawmakers also used the measure to urge the other branches of government to adopt similar restrictions. Senators encouraged the House of Representatives as well as the executive and judicial branches to bar their officials from participating in prediction markets as well.
Senator Moreno, speaking on the Senate floor, framed participation in such markets as incompatible with the responsibilities of an elected official. "United States senators have no business engaging in speculative activities like prediction markets while collecting a taxpayer-funded paycheck," he said in remarks calling for an immediate rules vote.
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer expressed support for the effort, warning against allowing lawmakers to treat their public duties as opportunities for personal wagers. He said, "We must never allow Congress to turn into a casino where members representing the public can gamble on wars or economic crises."
The action follows a high-profile legal case that has drawn attention to the risks associated with betting on geopolitical events. Earlier in the week, a U.S. Army soldier pleaded not guilty to fraud charges related to roughly $400,000 in winnings after allegedly using confidential information to place a bet that Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro would soon be out of office. Those bets occurred just before a U.S. military operation on January 3 that resulted in the soldier's removal.
Concerns about official access to nonpublic information are not limited to prediction markets. For years, members of Congress have faced scrutiny over their stock trades and whether those transactions amount to insider trading. Lawmakers frequently receive classified or otherwise closed briefings on potential military operations, and they also learn, in advance, the likely timing of legislative activity that could affect specific companies.
Efforts to impose stricter limits on lawmakers' personal financial dealings have had mixed progress. A bipartisan bill to ban stock trading by members of Congress had been moving through the House late last year, but momentum stalled when a committee advanced a partisan Republican alternative that has yet to go to the full House for a vote. In 2012, Congress enacted new disclosure requirements for stock trades, though enforcement and timely compliance have been recurring issues.
Advocates of a comprehensive stock trading prohibition estimate that, during 2024 alone, 113 members of Congress executed 9,261 trades involving 706 million shares. Separately, in April 2025, President Donald Trump posted on his social media platform that "This is a great time to buy!!!" just hours before announcing a pause on tariffs he had imposed, a posting that raised questions about market effects tied to public statements by officials.
Conclusion
The Senate's unanimous vote to ban its members, staff and officers from prediction markets marks a notable tightening of rules aimed at preventing the appearance or reality of officials profiting from privileged information. The measure reflects bipartisan concern about conflicts between public duties and private financial actions and signals pressure on other branches and the House to consider similar prohibitions.