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Congress hits Polymarket and Kalshi with a massive insider trading probe
Rep. James Comer is demanding internal records from the prediction market CEOs, warning that government employees could be using classified information to make “huge profits”.
May 22, 2026, 3:27 p.m. 2 min read
What to know:
- The House Oversight Committee has opened an investigation into major prediction markets Polymarket and Kalshi over concerns that U.S. government employees may be using insider information to profit from policy and national security events.
- Chair James Comer is seeking internal records from the platforms’ CEOs and has signaled he may pursue legislation to bar members of Congress, administration officials and other government employees from participating in prediction markets.
- The probe comes amid rapid growth in prediction markets and mounting bipartisan scrutiny in Congress, with lawmakers and experts warning of national security risks, potential insider trading and problem gambling tied to the booming industry.
“There’s a concern now that members of Congress, members of the president’s administration, any type of government employee, can use basic insider knowledge and make huge profits on anything government-related,” Comer told CNBC.
“So we want to not only launch an investigation to see how widespread this has been thus far, but also to prove a case that we’ve got to pass some type of legislation,” Comer added. “And I think it wouldn’t be too much to ask to say members of Congress can’t participate in the predictions market, nor can government employees or people in the president’s administration.”
Comer’s probe is the most recent in a series of attempts by Congress to investigate prediction markets and bring insider trading under control.
