A U.S. representative has introduced a bill to ban candidates from betting on their own election results, but it will not be considered before the 2026 midterm elections.

U.S. Representative Don Davis of North Carolina introduced the "No Betting on Your Own Race Act" this Monday, which would ban federal election candidates, their campaign teams, and their spouses and children from trading or holding "political event contracts" tied to their own elections, to prevent market manipulation, insider trading, and candidates profiting from election outcomes. While the bill does not directly name prediction market platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket, the "political event contracts" it defines explicitly cover such transactions. Violators would face up to $10,000 in civil penalties per offense, or a seizure of three times their potential profits. Earlier, Republican House candidate Laurie Buckhout was banned from Kalshi for three years and fined $2,590 for trading Kalshi event contracts related to her own election, though she faced no civil or criminal charges. As the U.S. Congress is currently in recess until after the November midterm elections, the bill cannot be considered before the 2026 midterms. Currently, Kalshi and Polymarket still offer trading of event contracts related to U.S. elections.