Merkley leads Senate, House colleagues in call for ban on gambling on U.S. elections

KTVZ

Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., led a group of lawmakers Monday in pressing the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to ban gambling on American elections.

The letter—signed by Senators Merkley, Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Representatives Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), Jamie Raskin (D-MD), and John Sarbanes (D-MD)—urges CFTC Chairman Rostin Behnam to finalize and implement a proposed rule to prevent Wall Street from setting up massive political betting markets that could influence and interfere with elections and further erode public trust in democracy. 

“As we approach the 2024 election, voters already face a political system that allows the richest individuals and corporations to funnel dark money into campaigns without disclosure. The threat of violence and extremism is high, and the U.S. remains a target for foreign actors who have sought to meddle in our elections,” the lawmakers wrote. “The last thing that voters heading to the polls need are bets waged on the outcome of that election. Voters need action, as proposed by the CFTC in this rule, to restore trust. Elections are not a for-profit enterprise. Without this rule, voters will wonder if their vote mattered, and the whether the outcome of the election was influenced by big money bets.”

“Election gambling fundamentally cheapens the sanctity of our democratic process. Political bets change the motivations behind each vote, replacing political convictions with financial calculations. 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 urge you to promptly finalize and implement this rule to prevent the commodification of U.S. elections,” the lawmakers concluded.

Previamente, Merkley led a letter to the CFTC to urge the agency to reject a pending proposal by a private prediction market operator that could allow for legal gambling on U.S. elections and their outcomes. The CFTC ultimately disapproved of the proposal.