Lawmakers and their families face new betting limits

For members of Congress, the temptation is not just to trade on headlines. It is to turn access, timing and inside knowledge into an edge. A federal House bill would try to stop that by banning covered congressional families from entering prediction-market agreements tied to official power.

H.R. 9367, the Stop Lawmakers From Predicting Act, would apply to members of Congress, their spouses and their dependent children. It would bar contracts or transactions that depend on the occurrence, nonoccurrence or extent of a specific government policy, a government action or a political outcome.

Where the line falls

The bill would amend chapter 131 of title 5, United States Code, and add a new subchapter on restrictions on trading on prediction markets. It does not try to shut down prediction markets for everyone. It draws a narrower line around people who hold public office, and around the families who can benefit from what those offices reveal.

It also reaches beyond a single vote or event. The ban would cover other happenings that came to a covered individual’s attention through service in Congress, which is the part meant to cut off inside access before it becomes a private wager.

Why the ban matters

The bill was introduced June 18, 2026, by Mr. Steil, with Mrs. Miller of Illinois, Mr. Murphy, Mrs. Hinson and Mr. Griffith as backers. The core question is simple, even if the legal language is not: should lawmakers be able to profit from bets built on the work and information that come with office?

That is why this proposal reads less like a gambling crackdown than an ethics fence. It tries to keep public power from becoming a trading signal.