Rep. Brian Still (R-Wis.) speaks with reporters outside the House Republican Conference on Wednesday, March 25, 2026, at the U.S. Capitol.
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House Republicans plan to introduce a provision Thursday that would prohibit members of Congress and their families from betting on prediction markets on topics such as policy, politics and elections.
A provision by Rep. Brian Still of Wisconsin would be added to a pending bill that would prohibit members of Congress from making new purchases of individual stocks other than those purchased with dividends from existing holdings.
Republican lawmakers have already promised a House vote on the bill, which is backed by House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) and President Donald Trump.
Mr. Steil chairs the committee that oversees the rules governing members of the House of Representatives and their staff.
The bill, which Steil’s office shared with CNBC, would require lawmakers who bet on events for which they had inside information to pay out $2,000 or 10% of the trade value, whichever is greater, plus any profits.
The provision allows members of Congress and their families to bet on events outside the political realm, such as sports.
“I don’t think some areas of prediction markets have the same ethical complexities that they do in other areas,” Steil told CNBC.
“If individuals, their spouses and dependent children want to predict the winner of the Super Bowl, I don’t think that’s an ethical challenge unique to the House,” he said.
The new proposal to limit the types of bets that members of Congress can make comes amid increased scrutiny of prediction markets such as Calci and Polymarket.
The Senate adopted a rule change earlier this year that prohibits senators and their staff from betting on prediction markets.
The House bill would also need to be passed by the Senate. If this is coupled with a larger stock trading ban, which lacks Democratic support because it focuses only on members of Congress rather than President Trump, this will be a high bar.
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