Congress·In Committee·H.R. 7004

Public Integrity in Financial Prediction Markets Act of 2026

Congress Proposes Ban on Federal Employees Betting on Political Outcomes Using Insider Information

Jan 9·View on Congress.gov·Read full text

Next up: A house committeeNo action in 6 months

This bill is currently in the House committee stage and has not moved since it was introduced in January 2026. It is now stalled because no action has been taken by the committees for five months. The House committees must review the bill before it can move forward.

Legislative Progress

House

Senate

President

Law

Key Points

This bill, introduced by Representative Torres, would stop federal employees and elected officials from using "insider information" to make money on prediction markets. These markets are websites where people bet on things like who will win an election or whether a new law will be passed.
The ban applies to almost everyone working for the federal government, including members of Congress, their staff, and people working at government agencies. It targets anyone who might know about a government decision before the general public finds out.
Under this rule, these officials would be forbidden from buying or selling "contracts" tied to government actions or political results if they have access to private information. This is meant to ensure that people in power don't use their positions to get rich from secret knowledge.
The bill defines "material nonpublic information" as facts that a regular investor would find important but that aren't available to the public yet. This includes information officials get while doing their daily jobs that a normal person couldn't find with a simple search.

Consumer ProtectionCriminal JusticeEconomy

Impact Analysis

Personal Impact

How this policy affects specific groups of people

Negative Impacts(1)

Federal Employee

Hurts

Federal workers would be banned from trading prediction market contracts on government policies or political outcomes if they have insider info.

Mixed Impacts(1)

Sports Betting

Neutral

Prediction markets would be off-limits for federal insiders, which could make these markets fairer but also reduces their participant pool.

Broader Impacts

DomainScoreShort-termLong-termReversibilityConfidence

Score

Scores: -5 (harmful) to +5 (beneficial)Short-term: 0-2 yearsLong-term: 10-30 years

Milestones

2 milestones2 actions

Jan 9, 2026House

Referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and in addition to the Committee on House Administration, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.

Sent to a congressional committee for expert review. The committee decides whether this bill moves forward.

Jan 9, 2026

Introduced in House

The bill was officially filed and given a number. It now enters the legislative queue.

Related News

4 articles

Axios·Jan 5

A congressman wants to criminalize insider trading on prediction markets

Rep. Ritchie Torres is introducing legislation to ban government officials from using privileged information to bet on political events. The move follows a suspicious $400,000 profit made by a trader on Polymarket shortly before the U.S. capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro.

Center

Washington Post·Jan 15

Who used the Maduro raid to earn $400K? The pool of suspects is alarming.

The Public Integrity in Financial Prediction Markets Act would prohibit employees and elected officials in both Congress and the executive branch from buying or selling prediction market contracts tied to government action, addressing what Rep. Torres calls a 'cesspool of corruption.'

Center Left

WebProNews·Jan 8

Torres Bill Criminalizes Insider Trading in Prediction Markets Post-Polymarket Profit

The proposed act would impose criminal penalties on federal employees and appointees who trade using material nonpublic information. It mirrors the 2012 STOCK Act but adapts the principles to the decentralized and event-driven nature of prediction markets.

Center

No votes or related bills recorded for this bill yet.

Source Information

Document Type

Congressional Bill

Official Title

Public Integrity in Financial Prediction Markets Act of 2026

Bill NumberHR 7004

Congress119th Congress

ChamberHouse of Representatives

Latest ActionReferred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and in addition to the Committee on House Administration, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.

Data Sources

Congress.gov

Official legislative information

Read Full Bill Text

Sponsor

Cosponsors

(42)

D: 42

Analysis generated by AI. Always verify with official sources.