Don Davis Introduces Bill Banning Candidates Betting on Elections

Representative Don Davis, a Democrat from North Carolina, introduced the No Betting on Your Own Race Act on Monday. The proposed legislation would ban federal candidates from trading on prediction market contracts related to their own elections, with violators facing fines of $10,000 or three times their net financial gain, whichever is larger.

Davis introduced the bill following a controversy involving his Republican opponent, Laurie Buckhout. In August, Buckhout traded on her own election contracts on the prediction platform Kalshi. The platform subsequently suspended her for three years and required her to pay a penalty of nearly $2,600.

While prediction platforms already enforce internal bans to prevent insider trading, Davis argues that federal law is necessary to establish consistency across all campaign committees. Because the House and Senate are not scheduled to meet until after the midterm elections, the bill is unlikely to be implemented during the current cycle.