House introduces PREDICT Act banning officials and relatives from prediction markets and imposing fines

House lawmakers on Thursday introduced the PREDICT Act, a bill designed to prohibit U.S. government officials, including members of Congress and the president, and their families from placing bets on prediction‑market platforms tied to government events, as part of a broader effort to tighten oversight of such markets ^{[1] [2]}.

Draft legislation would impose penalties on prohibited trades — including a proposed 10% fine on trade value and requirements to return profits to federal coffers — and follows scrutiny after questionable wagers linked to potential military action in Iran that reportedly generated more than $1 million in gains; market operator Kalshi has publicly endorsed the proposed legislation while Polymarket has not commented, and both platforms implemented new internal policies before the bill was filed ^{[3] [4]}.

Lawmakers say the measure aims to close an oversight gap and prevent misuse of nonpublic government information on prediction markets as Congress moves to formalize trading restrictions and penalties for insiders ^{[1] [2] [3]}.