Representative Don Davis introduced a bill that would fine candidates $10,000 or three times their net gain, whichever is greater. It follows a settlement involving his North Carolina opponent and trades tied to her election.
U.S. Representative Don Davis, a Democrat from North Carolina, introduced a bill on Monday to bar federal candidates from trading prediction-market contracts tied to their own elections. The No Betting on Your Own Race Act was proposed less than a month before the midterm elections.
The measure would impose a fine of $10,000 or three times the net financial gain from a violation, whichever is greater. Davis said candidates for federal office should be treated like athletes and not be allowed to bet on their own contests.
The proposal follows a case involving Laurie Buckhout, Davis’s Republican opponent in North Carolina’s 1st Congressional District. In August, she settled with Kalshi after the platform found she had traded contracts related to her own election. She paid a penalty of just under $2,600 and was suspended from Kalshi for three years. Buckhout called the trades a mistake and said she acted to correct it after learning there was a problem.
The Senate approved a resolution in April barring senators and staff from trading on prediction markets, but it did not cover non-incumbent candidates for the Senate. Congress is not scheduled to meet again until after the midterms, leaving little chance for Davis’s bill to take effect this election cycle. CNBC disclosed that it has a commercial relationship with Kalshi, including customer acquisition and a minority investment.