Rep. Ritchie Torres is moving to set firm limits on how elected officials — and others — engage with prediction markets, following bets forecasting Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro's capture.
The New York Democrat introduced the "Public Integrity in Financial Prediction Markets Act of 2026" on Monday to block federal elected officials, political appointees, and executive branch employees from making bets on prediction markets involving "government policy, government action or political outcome."
This comes after a Polymarket account wagered that Maduro would be "out" by the end of this month, netting $400,000, sparking concerns of inside information, according to Axios. Polymarket did not respond to a request for comment on Monday.
On Saturday, President Donald Trump disclosed that U.S. forces had taken Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, into custody. U.S. prosecutors say Maduro "moved loads of cocaine under the protection of Venezuelan law enforcement," and worked with others to traffic cocaine, according to the complaint.
Maduro and his wife pleaded not guilty on Monday, according to multiple news reports.
'As soon as possible'
Over the weekend, a spokesperson for Torres said the bill has been "in the works for a bit," but the news of the Venezuela bet underscored the urgency of "introducing the bill as soon as possible."
Torres' spokesperson said on Monday that the bill is a first step. Torres is also a member of the House Financial Services Committee, where he is a part of its digital assets-focused subcommittee.
"The bill is designed to clearly codify that this conduct is illegal under federal law," the spokesperson said. "At this stage, the legislation does not include separate enforcement mechanisms or additional penalties beyond those that already exist."
"This proposal is intended to be a starting point, and we expect future work to build on it as the policy conversation continues," they added.
Prediction markets like Polymarket and Kalshi have grown in popularity over the past year, especially during the 2024 election cycle, as they allowed people to use crypto wager on the outcomes of specific races, including who would be president. Donald Trump Jr. has advisory roles at both Kalshi and Polymarket.
Zack Abrams contributed to this report.
