Rep. Don Davis introduces bill banning candidates from trading on their own elections
Rep. Don Davis introduced the No Betting on Your Own Race Act on October 6, 2026. The bill would bar federal candidates and their immediate families from trading prediction‑market contracts tied to their own elections. Violators face a civil penalty of $10,000 or three times net profit. The legislation also gives platforms legal cover to close offending accounts and report traders to regulators. No vote timeline or co‑sponsor count was disclosed.
The bill gives CFTC‑registered platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket explicit authority to freeze candidate accounts and flag trades to regulators. That removes a legal ambiguity that currently discourages platforms from policing high‑profile users. The $10,000 floor makes enforcement profitable for whistleblowers and state attorneys general.
It lands while House Oversight and the CFTC are already probing lawmaker trades, so platforms that lack candidate‑screening tools risk becoming the example that shapes mandatory surveillance rules. The first venue to use this safe harbor on a sitting member will set the compliance template every competitor must copy. Candidates already in contested races may liquidate positions before any floor vote.
The bill arrives as House Oversight expands its insider‑trading probe to Hyperliquid, Crypto.com, and PredictIt, widening the congressional scrutiny suite that already includes the CFTC's Kinzinger investigation.