Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) on Thursday called for stricter rules on prediction markets, warning that access to insider information could fuel unethical profits and criminal activity tied to sensitive global events.
In a post on X, Schiff said Congress must ensure that “no public official or other person with insider information” can use that knowledge to place bets in prediction markets. He pushed legislation that would prohibit contracts tied to events such as war, assassination, terrorism and death.
“These kinds of bets should be precluded altogether,” Schiff said, adding that failure to act could lead to “a lot more crimes like this one.”
Insider Trading Spark Legislative Action
Schiff’s bill comes in the wake of allegations against an Army soldier, Gannon Ken Van Dyke, who was charged with allegedly using classified information about a military operation to profit over $400,000 on Polymarket bets linked to Venezuela.
Van Dyke reportedly staked about $33,034 on contracts tied to the U.S. invasion of Venezuela and the ouster of Nicolás Maduro, winning all his wagers right before Trump’s confirmation of Maduro’s capture on January 3.
In another instance, six suspected insider accounts made $1.2 million on the exact timing of U.S. strikes on Iran. Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) has described the situation as “insane” and is moving to introduce legislation aimed at outlawing such betting practices. “People around Trump are profiting off war and death. I’m introducing legislation ASAP to outlaw this,” Murphy said.
This backdrop of insider betting echoes ongoing concerns raised by regulatory bodies and figures like Schiff, who are advocating for stricter controls on prediction markets to prevent the exploitation of sensitive information tied to violent events.
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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