HR7004-119

What This Bill Does

The Public Integrity in Financial Prediction Markets Act of 2026 creates an insider-trading-style restriction for political prediction markets. Covered individuals include federal elected officials, House and Senate employees, political appointees, and executive-agency employees. They may not knowingly engage in a covered transaction if they possess material nonpublic information relevant to the prediction-market contract or may reasonably obtain that information in the course of official duties, including information not otherwise available to a diligent member of the public. Covered transactions are purchases, sales, or exchanges of prediction-market contracts related to government policy, government action, or political outcomes. Prediction-market contracts include financial instruments, contracts, or derivatives listed on or offered by a platform engaged in interstate commerce and tied to future events.

Who Benefits and How

The public benefits from a clearer rule preventing federal officials and staff from using government information for private prediction-market gains. Prediction-market users and platforms benefit from stronger integrity rules that can reduce suspicion that government insiders trade against ordinary participants. Ethics watchdogs, inspectors general, congressional ethics offices, and agency ethics officials benefit from a defined statutory standard for government-policy and political-outcome contracts.

Who Bears the Burden and How

Federal elected officials, congressional staff, political appointees, and executive-agency employees must avoid covered trades when they have or can obtain relevant nonpublic information through their duties. Prediction-market platforms may need surveillance, user-screening, or compliance processes for covered individuals. Ethics offices, inspectors general, and enforcement staff must interpret materiality, nonpublic information, official-duty access, and whether a contract relates to government policy, action, or political outcomes.

Key Provisions

• Prohibits covered federal officials and employees from knowingly trading covered prediction-market contracts with relevant material nonpublic information.
• Requires the trading ban to apply when official duties give the person reasonable access to relevant nonpublic information.
• Requires covered-individual treatment for federal elected officials, congressional employees, political appointees, and executive-agency employees.
• Restricts covered transactions involving purchases, sales, or exchanges tied to government policy, government action, or political outcomes.
• Requires event-linked instruments, contracts, or derivatives offered by interstate-commerce platforms to be treated as prediction-market contracts.