It’s a day ending in “y,” so that means another prediction market bill has made its way to Capitol Hill. Although the latest one is different in that there is no charming acronym attached.
The Public Service Accountability Act was introduced Wednesday by Rep. Maggie Goodlander, a Democrat from New Hampshire, and Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, a Pennsylvania Republican.
The bill is sweeping but simple: It would prohibit senior officials across all three branches of government from trading on prediction markets (or from buying and selling individual stocks) for the entirety of their terms or jobs.
“Public service is a sacred trust. But right now, senior American officials in some of the most powerful positions of public trust can sit in on a briefing in the morning and trade on what they heard that afternoon — making decisions about war, about tariffs, about billion-dollar court cases and personally profiting from the outcomes,” Goodlander said in a release hyping the bill. “That’s dead wrong, and our bipartisan bill will help put a stop to this corrupt betrayal of trust by closing gaping loopholes and making a commonsense rule of law crystal clear: that in America, people who hold public power must be accountable to the American people and serve the public interest — not their own personal profits.”
The “senior officials” part is wide-ranging, including members of Congress, their spouses and dependents, and officers and employees of Congress. It also includes the president, the vice president, and their spouses and dependents, plus a swath of appointees and senior members. Additionally, all federal judges, the United States Supreme Court, and certain senior judicial employees would be banned from prediction markets and stock trading.
“Public service is a duty, not an investment strategy,” Fitzpatrick said. “The American people deserve to know that their leaders are making decisions based on the national interest, not personal financial gain. By closing loopholes around stock trading and prediction markets, this bipartisan legislation sets a clear standard across all three branches: if you are entrusted with public power, your obligation is to the people — not your portfolio.”
Much stiffer penalties
Currently, the penalty for breaking federal disclosure rules is a $200 fine. Under the provisions of the newly introduced bill, people breaking the law would have to give up all profits and pay an additional 10% of the value of the investment.
This is not the only bill floating around D.C. that would, at minimum, curtail politicians and others from playing in the prediction market fields.
Among them is the End Prediction Market Corruption Act, which would bar the president, vice president, and members of Congress from trading event contracts. The Public Integrity in Financial Prediction Markets Act and the Prediction Markets Security and Integrity Act both target officials trading on inside information.
Others come with the acronyms the Public Service Accountability Act skipped, including the PREDICT Act, the BETS OFF Act, and the DEATH BETS Act. All told, more than a dozen bills addressing prediction markets are now on Capitol Hill.
None have gained traction. A Senate Commerce subcommittee held a hearing in May on sports betting integrity that turned into a referendum on prediction markets, but no legislation has advanced. And any crackdown would still need a signature from President Trump, whose family has direct ties to the industry.
