Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley has introduced new legislation aimed at preventing Wall Street from setting up political betting markets that could undermine the integrity of U.S. elections. The Ban Gambling on Elections Act seeks to outlaw betting on elections, which Merkley argues could interfere with the democratic process and erode public trust.
“When big bets are cast on elections and dark money can smear candidates, you have the perfect combination of factors to destroy the integrity of our elections,” Merkley said. “Reducing our democracy to a horse race for the wealthy to bet on cheapens and weakens our democratic process by prioritizing money over the will of the American people. That is a bad bet for our democracy, and we cannot allow the voice of the voters to be undermined.”
The legislation comes after a federal judge recently overturned a decision by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), which had rejected a proposal from a private prediction market operator to legalize election betting. Although a federal appeals court has since paused the ruling, Merkley’s bill aims to preempt future attempts to commercialize election outcomes.
In a Senate floor address last week, Merkley warned of the potential for deep-pocketed interests to manipulate election outcomes.
“Imagine this—Election Day is approaching. Ultra-rich Americans and huge corporations bet billions of dollars on the outcome of which party controls the House of Representatives or Senate. As the election approaches, one or two races might make the difference on whether they win or lose that bet. They now have a huge incentive to spend another vast sum smearing the candidate they want to lose. That is a profound corruption of our democracy,” Merkley said.
The bill is co-sponsored by Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI). Merkley has been a vocal critic of efforts to legalize election betting, previously urging the CFTC to reject a proposal from a Wall Street firm to allow such practices. He has also led efforts to push CFTC Chairman Rostin Behnam to finalize a rule banning election gambling.
With elections becoming increasingly high-stakes, Merkley’s legislation is a proactive attempt to safeguard the integrity of U.S. democracy from financial exploitation.
