U.S. House of Representatives proposes restrictions on prediction markets in response to Maduro betting incident

2026-01-09 01:24:09

Source: PortaldoBitcoin Original Title: US Congressman Seeks to Limit Prediction Markets After Maduro’s Arrest Original Link: U.S. House Representative Ritchie Torres plans to restrict the use of prediction markets by elected officials following reports over the weekend that someone profited $400,000 on Polymarket by betting on the overthrow of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

The Democratic congressman intends to introduce the “2026 Financial Prediction Market Public Integrity Act.” According to The Block, the proposal would prohibit elected federal officials, political appointees, and administrative staff from betting on prediction markets involving “government policies, government actions, or political outcomes.”

A bet on Polymarket yielded a $400,000 profit, with a return on investment of 1200%. The wager was that the Venezuelan leader would be overthrown before January 31. This drew attention and raised concerns about the potential leak of confidential information, as the account was created at the end of December and made only four bets, all related to U.S. military actions in Venezuela.

On Saturday morning, U.S. President Donald Trump revealed that U.S. troops had arrested Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. The U.S. government claimed Maduro “was transporting large quantities of cocaine under the protection of Venezuelan police” and was involved in drug trafficking.

Maduro and his wife pleaded not guilty when they appeared in court in New York on Monday.

Emergency Legislation

According to The Block, Torres’s spokesperson said the bill has been “in development for some time,” but the news about the Venezuela bets highlighted the urgency to “submit it as soon as possible.”

The spokesperson stated that the bill is just the first step. “The bill aims to explicitly codify that such behavior is illegal under federal law. […] At this stage, legislation does not include standalone enforcement mechanisms or additional penalties beyond existing laws,” he said.

“This proposal is intended to be a starting point, and we hope future work will further develop it as political debate continues,” they added.

This page may contain third-party content, which is provided for information purposes only (not representations/warranties) and should not be considered as an endorsement of its views by Gate, nor as financial or professional advice. See Disclaimer for details.