US lawmakers Murphy, Casar push legislation to regulate prediction markets

"Our legislation is pretty simple. It simply says that these markets cannot allow people to make bets on government decision-making and frankly on other instances where there is one single individual who controls and knows the outcome of a market."

"What happens to us spiritually when every moral question in this country becomes a market? Don't we lose something? Don't we rot a little bit inside when the question of famine in Gaza isn't a question of what is right and what is wrong, but whether you can make money or lose money?"

"I think it's really important that there are certain matters that are not monetised by prediction markets."

Senator Chris Murphy and Representative Greg Casar announced legislation called the BETS OFF Act to regulate prediction markets like Kalshi and Polymarket. The bill prohibits bets on government decision-making, terrorism, war, assassination, and events where individuals know or control outcomes. The legislation responds to concerns that bettors profited from geopolitical conflicts including US-Israeli strikes on Iran and Venezuelan political events. Murphy emphasized the moral implications, questioning whether monetizing every decision through prediction markets causes societal harm. Critics have identified suspicious patterns on betting platforms, including sudden account creation spikes before government military actions, suggesting potential insider knowledge exploitation.

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