US representatives submit Ban Gambling on Elections Act to Congress
Jamie Raskin and Andrea Salinas submit mirror bill to Senator Jeff Merkley in the Senate with a view to end betting on election results
Representatives Jamie Raskin and Andrea Salinas have jointly introduced the Ban Gambling on Elections Act to Congress as the pair attempt to push back against the market.
Maryland representative Raskin and Oregan representative Salinas have filed the House companion to Senator Jeff Merkley’s existing legislation in the Senate.
Merkley’s Senate Bill 5,100 was introduced in September and moves to amend the Commodity Exchange Act as to ban political wagering of any kind.
In submitting an identical companion bill in the House, Raskin and Salinas will be hoping to produce a groundswell of feeling and mirror Senate Bill 5,100.
At the time of writing, Senate Bill 5,100 has been read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry.
Election betting exploded in the US as platforms such as Kalshi, Polymarket and Robinhood attracted huge influxes of users.
Kalshi made headlines after winning its legal battle with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to be allowed to run election contracts, while Polymarket CEO had his phone seized by the FBI in a dawn raid following the election.
Robinhood, which traded $500m on the US presidential election having launched its product a week before, has also claimed it is “keenly” looking at entering the sports betting space.
Raskin said: “With distrust in our electoral system at an all-time high, we must crack down on gambling in all US elections.
“Our democracy demands reliable and transparent processes to cast ballots and tally results, not a horserace clouded by gambling odds and bets placed.
“I am proud to go all-in with Congresswoman Salinas and Senator Merkley in calling on Congress to ante up and pass this commonsense legislation.”
Salinas added: “Election betting sets a dangerous precedent, incentivising bad actors to try and influence or interfere with our election systems.
“We cannot play roulette with our democracy by allowing this kind of wagering without a thorough accounting of the potential consequences”
Merkley concluded: “Betting on elections degrades them from an investment in leadership to a profit-maximising game.
“In addition, this practice is corrupt since those betting can influence the outcome by funding late-cycle smear campaigns. It’s like betting on a baseball game when you control the umpire.”