Five U.S. Senators and three House Representatives have called on the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to enforce a ban on betting markets for the 2024 presidential election. In an August 5 letter to CFTC Chair Rostin Benham, they argued that such markets could undermine public trust in democracy by potentially influencing elections.
Concerns Over Election Betting
The lawmakers expressed concerns that allowing high-stakes betting on elections could lead to unethical behavior. They pointed out that wealthy individuals could place large wagers while simultaneously donating to specific candidates or parties, potentially using insider information to gain an advantage. The group emphasized that elections should not be treated as a “for-profit enterprise,” as this could compromise the integrity of the democratic process.
Also Read: US Senators Urge CFTC to Finalize Ban on Election Betting
Key Figures and Context
The letter was signed by Senators Jeff Merkley, Richard Blumenthal, Chris Van Hollen, Elizabeth Warren, and Sheldon Whitehouse, as well as Representatives Jamie Raskin, John Sarbanes, and Eleanor Holmes Norton—all members of the Democratic Party. They stressed that the CFTC should finalize and implement rules to prevent the commodification of U.S. elections.
This call to action comes amidst significant activity on decentralized prediction platforms like Polymarket. The platform has accumulated over $500 million in bets on the “Presidential Election Winner 2024” market and $319.7 million on the “Democratic Nominee 2024” market. Notably, Polymarket previously settled a $1.4 million fine with the CFTC in January 2022 for offering unregistered event-based binary option markets.
