Five US Senators and three House reps have issued a new round of calls to the commodities regulator to prohibit betting on the 2024 presidential election.
Polymarket, a decentralized prediction platform, has amassed over $500 million in bets on the likely winner of the 2024 United States presidential election.
In a letter to Rostin Benham, the Chair of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, dated August 5, they contend that these markets “could influence and interfere with elections and further erode public trust in democracy.”
“Allowing billionaires to wager extraordinary bets while simultaneously contributing to a specific candidate or party, and political insiders to bet on elections using non-public information, will further degrade public trust in the electoral process.”
“We strongly encourage you to expedite the finalization and implementation of this rule to prevent the commodification of U.S. elections.”
US Senators Jeff Merkley, Richard Blumenthal, Chris Van Hollen, Elizabeth Warren, Sheldon Whitehouse, Representatives Jamie Raskin, John Sarbanes, and Eleanor Holmes Norton signed the letter.
The legislators emphasized that elections are not a “for-profit enterprise,” as such an approach would diminish the integrity of the democratic process.
“Political bets change the motivations behind each vote, replacing political convictions with financial calculations.”
All eight legislators represent the Democratic party.
Polymarket, a decentralized prediction platform, has recorded over $500 million in wagers on the “Presidential Election Winner 2024” market and $319.7 million in bets on the “Democratic Nominee 2024” market.
These markets are accessible to punters from all corners of the globe.
In January 2022, Polymarket resolved a $1.4 million sanction with the CFTC for providing over 900 event-based binary options event contract markets without obtaining registration.
The presidential election in the United States is now three months away.
In recent weeks, presumptive Democratic candidate Kamala Harris has been closing the gap with Republican candidate Donald Trump, the clear favorite to win the US election, according to most cryptocurrency wagering platforms.
