U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) has introduced a bill to ban online betting on government actions.
It comes after a handful of people made a lot of money betting on the beginning of the war in Iran. Hours before the first strikes, several people placed bets that they would happen on an online betting website called Polymarket. They made hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Murphy said the bets were likely placed by government officials with knowledge of the strikes.
The Banning Event Trading on Sensitive Operations and Federal Functions Act, nicknamed BETS OFF, would ban betting on government actions like war and terrorism.
“I think it's really important that there are certain matters that are not monetized by prediction markets, whether that be humanitarian disasters overseas, or the fundamental moral question of whether we go to war or not,” Murphy said.
According to Murphy, the bill would not interfere with existing mainstream financial markets, like trades made ahead of Federal Reserve interest rate adjustments.
The BETS OFF Act was also introduced in the House of Representatives by Greg Casar, a Democrat from Texas.
Murphy said he’s clear-eyed about the current situation in Congress: Republicans hold the House, Senate and White House, and therefore control what makes it to the floor for a vote.
Donald Trump Jr., the president’s son, is an investor in and an advisor to Polymarket. The Trump Media and Technology Group, which owns and operates Truth Social, is currently working on its own prediction market.
“I think that this is a really hard issue for Republicans right now, because their cult leader is cashing in on these prediction markets,” Murphy said. “I just want to be honest. I mean, right now, there's not a lot of evidence that Republicans are willing to stand up to President Trump when he's making money corruptly.”
In private conversations, Murphy said, Republicans have said the markets are "inherently corrupt.”
A request for comment from Polymarket on this story was not returned before press time.
