Prediction markets face Comer’s call for government trading ban

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House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer has called for new restrictions on government officials’ prediction market trading, including a possible outright ban, after an investigation reviewed 1,700 pages of documents.

Summary

Comer wants Congress to consider trading restrictions covering officials across all branches of government.
The committee reviewed 1,700 pages of records and received five bipartisan staff briefings.
Proposed reforms include limits on government-related contracts and information sharing to help enforce restrictions.
The Senate already bars its members and staff from trading on prediction markets.

The House Oversight Committee said in a Nov. 13 release that its investigation examined insider trading risks involving government officials, military personnel and individuals with security clearances.

Comer, a Kentucky Republican, said Congress should consider legislation covering federal employees, lawmakers and congressional staff. The recommendations leave open whether Congress should prohibit all prediction market trading by officials or restrict particular contracts connected to government business.

“Congress must consider additional reforms to prevent public corruption and restore the American people’s trust in government,” Comer said.

Prediction market restrictions could cover all government branches

According to the committee’s findings, restrictions should apply across the executive, legislative and judicial branches, with the committee arguing that public servants should not personally profit from nonpublic information associated with their work.

Among the options discussed were a complete prohibition and narrower limits on government-related contracts. The committee called for Congress to encourage prediction market companies and federal agencies to share information needed to enforce trading restrictions.

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The recommendations concern who can trade and which contracts officials can use. They represent a call for congressional action, with the committee presenting several possible approaches for lawmakers to consider.

Kalshi and Polymarket have said they strengthened controls against insider trading, while the investigation examined the safeguards available to identify government personnel using their platforms.

Comer’s investigation began with identity checks and offshore access

In its May 22 announcement, the committee requested records from Polymarket CEO Shayne Coplan and Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour covering account verification, geographic restrictions, and suspicious trading.

The inquiry included whether users could bypass restrictions on offshore platforms. Comer said internal company records were needed to identify potential offenders and assess whether operators were meeting their legal obligations.

By Sept. 29, the committee had sent further requests to Hyperliquid Labs, Crypto.com and Aristotle Exchange, which operates PredictIt. At that stage, it reported receiving nearly 1,000 documents and five briefings from Kalshi and Polymarket representatives.

An earlier case cited in the investigation involved Army Master Sergeant Gannon Ken Van Dyke. An indictment alleged that he used classified information about the operation to capture former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro to earn more than $409,000 through Polymarket wagers. He pleaded not guilty.

White House speech bets led to a $172,539 settlement

Federal regulators have already taken action involving information obtained through government employment.

As crypto.news previously reported, former White House teleprompter operator Gabriel Perez agreed to a speech betting settlement after the Commodity Futures Trading Commission found that he used advance access to President Donald Trump’s remarks to trade on Kalshi.

The agency’s Aug. 28 announcement said Perez traded presidential mention contracts between December 2025 and February 2026. Such contracts pay out according to whether the president uses particular words or phrases during speeches.

Perez was ordered to return $107,539.02 in profits and pay a $65,000 civil penalty. The settlement imposed a three-year trading ban, and the CFTC credited KalshiEX with assisting its investigation. The regulator said the civil penalty included a substantial discount under its cooperation policy because Perez had cooperated with the investigation.

Political candidates faced separate exchange disciplinary action in April. Kalshi suspended three congressional candidates identified as Mark Moran, Matt Klein and Ezekiel Enriquez after finding they traded contracts tied to their own campaigns.

Kalshi treated the conduct as violations of its exchange rules and said those cases did not lead to referrals to the CFTC or Justice Department.

Senate members and staff already face trading restrictions

The Senate adopted its own prediction market ban by unanimous consent on April 30, changing its standing rules with immediate effect.

Introduced by Republican Sen. Bernie Moreno, the resolution covered senators and Senate staff. Republican Rep. Ashley Hinson subsequently said she would introduce a similar resolution for the House.

Responding to the Senate vote, Polymarket supported the restrictions and said its terms already prohibited the conduct. Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour said his company proactively blocked members of Congress and enforced its insider trading rules.

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