Luke Garrett
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Luke Garrett, NPR News, Washington.
Kalshi is a leading prediction market in the U.S.
It has hosted over a billion dollars in election and political bets.
Campaign staff aren't allowed to use these markets, but now Kalshi is, quote, actively screening campaign staff to make sure they don't.
The company's enforcement lawyer, Robert Denault, said Kalshi is using federal election commission data to do just this.
It remains unclear how effective this new monitoring system will be to prevent insider campaign bets.
Meanwhile, in Congress, Representative Richie Torres, a Democrat from New York, introduced a bill banning campaign staff from placing election bets on all prediction markets, including Kalshi, Polymarket, and Predicted.
Both actions come after NPR reported a campaign staffer bet and made, quote, thousands on prediction markets using insider information.
Luke Garrett, NPR News, Washington.
Two campaign staffers granted anonymity for fear of retribution said the method is simple.
Campaign staffers would get an unreleased poll, use it to buy advantageous event contracts, and then sell their contracts once the poll was released and their contract price soared.
One staffer admitted to doing this themselves.
They won thousands, and their bet was verified by prediction market data reviewed by NPR.
Current law bars prediction market bettors from using insider information to make money.
But former commissioner at the Commodities Future Trading Commission, Kristen Johnson, doubted that the agency could police, quote, election positions.
These bets raise serious questions about how campaign operatives can turn private information into a quick payday amid an unsettled legal landscape for prediction markets.
Luke Garrett, NPR News, Washington.
Two campaign staffers granted anonymity for fear of retribution said the method is simple.
Campaign staffers would get an unreleased poll, use it to buy advantageous event contracts, and then sell their contracts once the poll was released and their contract price soared.
One staffer admitted to doing this themselves.