STOP Corrupt Bets Act of 2026

Key Points

• The bill would ban prediction markets from listing contracts on U.S. elections, sporting events, government actions, and military operations. These are the four main categories of event contracts that would no longer be allowed on registered trading platforms.
• There is a narrow exception for businesses that use contracts tied to government actions to protect themselves from financial risk. This hedging carve-out would let companies continue managing uncertainty around regulatory or policy changes.
• Congress expresses concern that prediction markets amount to a federally regulated gambling system and urges the CFTC to broadly prohibit event contracts that are not used for legitimate commercial hedging.
• The bill requires a GAO study within 60 days of enactment examining insider trading in prediction markets, the impact on young adults aged 18 to 20, and how to address illegal activity on foreign prediction market platforms.
• The bill explicitly preserves states' authority to regulate or prohibit gambling and gaming under their own laws, making clear the federal ban does not override stricter state rules.