Rep. Don Davis (D-NC) introduced a bill in the House on Monday that would bar candidates for federal office, their spouses and their campaign committees from trading prediction market contracts on their own elections.

The measure, the No Betting on Your Own Race Act, would amend federal election law to make the practice a civil offense. Violations would carry a $10,000 fine per violation, or three times the net financial gain, whichever is greater. The full text of the bill was published on Davis's website. Prediction market contracts pay out according to how a listed event is settled, meaning a candidate betting on their own race would hold a direct financial stake in its outcome.

"We don't want our athletes to bet on their games," Davis said in an October 5 post on X. "Candidates from different political parties have traded on their own races, and Congress must bring an end to it."

We don't want our athletes to bet on their games. Candidates running for federal elected office should be treated exactly the same and should not be allowed to trade on their own election. Candidates from different political parties have traded on their own races, and Congress… pic.twitter.com/gBDC8h4Tki

— Congressman Don Davis (@RepDonDavis) October 5, 2026

The prohibition is drawn widely. It covers the candidate, a spouse, a dependent child and any authorized committee, and it reaches contracts settling not only on who wins a race but also on whether a person remains a candidate at all, as well as on their vote share, margin or placement. Indirect exposure counts as well, including inducing someone else to trade, holding a beneficial interest however titled, or funding another person's position knowing what it is for.

Much of the bill's text is aimed at the exchanges rather than at the candidates. Platforms and their staff would face no penalty under the section and would be shielded from liability for acting in good faith to stop a breach, including restricting, suspending or closing an account and cancelling, voiding or unwinding a position. They could report suspected violations to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the attorney general or the Federal Election Commission without liability, and without telling the person reported.

To make such screening possible, the FEC would be required to publish a free, machine-readable list of every federal candidate, updated at least weekly, carrying each person's name, commission identifier, office sought and the dates they entered and left the race. The commission and state election boards would also have to notify candidates of the rules when they file.

The bill contains a grace period of sorts. Holding or selling a position that becomes a covered contract when someone declares their candidacy would not be an offense during whatever minimum divestment window the platform allows.

The definition of a "political event contract" in the legislation runs well beyond individual races, taking in caucuses, nominations, control of Congress and any other political or governmental event the CFTC designates by rule. The ban would apply to conduct from the date of enactment.

To date, exchanges have largely policed the issue themselves. Kalshi fined multiple congressional candidates earlier this year over bets on their own races and has suspended candidates since. Meanwhile, the CFTC is separately investigating former Representative Adam Kinzinger over trades tied to his own presidential pardon, and agency staff warned exchanges in an advisory last month that contracts settling on the conduct of named individuals should be presumed open to manipulation. Political event contracts already sit within the CFTC's regulatory remit, and Davis's bill would shift enforcement of candidate wagers from platform house rules into federal election law. As introduced, the measure would follow the standard legislative route, needing passage in both chambers of Congress before any of its provisions could take effect.