Davis Bill Would Ban Candidates From Betting on Own Races — SkimNews
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- Rep. Don Davis (D-N.C.) introduced the "No Betting on Your Own Race Act" on Monday, which would bar candidates for federal office from trading on prediction market contracts related to their own elections
- Violators would face a fine of $10,000 or three times the net financial gain from the violation, whichever figure is larger
- Laurie Buckhout, Davis's Republican opponent in North Carolina's 1st Congressional District, settled with Kalshi in August after the platform found she traded on contracts tied to her own race, paying just under $2,600 and receiving a three-year suspension
- Buckhout called the trades "a dumb mistake" and said "I bet on myself. Literally," while Davis labeled her actions "a disqualifying breach of public trust"
- Prediction market platforms including Kalshi and Polymarket have already been enforcing this restriction voluntarily, and both publicly praised a Senate resolution passed in April banning senators and their staff from such trading
- The April Senate resolution did not extend to non-incumbent Senate candidates, leaving a gap Davis's bill is designed to close for all federal candidates regardless of incumbency
- The House and Senate are not scheduled to reconvene until after the midterm elections, meaning the bill has effectively no chance of becoming law for the current cycle
Why it matters: Davis's bill closes a specific loophole the April Senate resolution left untouched: non-incumbent candidates like Buckhout, who paid roughly $2,600 and was suspended from Kalshi for three years, could still legally place those trades. Because Congress won't reconvene until after the midterms, the bill's only practical effect this year is pressuring platforms and shaping the next legislative session's agenda.
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