Insider trading has been an open secret in politics for decades. That said, the internet and social media have made trading more normalized and more blatant to the point that lawmakers can no longer ignore it.
Kalshi, a popular online prediction market platform, has risen to the top of trading apps in the market. Anything and everything has been open for trade on its app, garnering millions of visits to the site since 2018. While Kalshi has primarily been used for sports betting, even in 2025, sports betting makes up 89% of the app’s revenue. Recent years have seen a rise in political betting.
While it would be one thing if these problems stayed amongst the general American population, it’s become a problem when elected officials have been caught trading using Kalshi. This comes after three congressional candidates were found to be betting on their own races using the app. This blatant use of the app has led to multiple lawsuits against Kalshi, not only for political betting but also due to the damage of sports betting.
Lawmakers can no longer ignore insider trading, especially with how trading apps have made trading widespread. Already, states like New York have banned government employees from trading in prediction markets, and more could follow. The pressure is here, and while trading crackdowns have already started on regular government employees, it won’t be too long before similar measures will be affecting higher-level politicians if the pressure is kept up.
