With a broad mandate to mop up the corrosive graft seeping out of Washington DC under Donald Trump’s second administration, Democrats are reportedly preparing to bring the legislative hammer down on prediction markets — tech moneymakers era with deep ties to the White House.
That’s according to Politico, which reports that Democrats are preparing to curb what California representative Maxine Waters called “predatory lending and predatory platforms, including prediction markets, so that our constituents keep more of their hard-earned dollars in their pockets.”
As Oregon Democratic Senator Jeff Merkley told Politico, “we need to rein in this gambling, and with Democrats taking back control of Congress, now is the time for long-overdue legislative action.”
Beyond protecting consumers from predatory gambling companies, the agenda has the added effect of targeting a key source of income for the Trump family dynasty. Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr, has emerged as a strong supporter of prediction markets, earning him advisory roles on the boards of Polymarket and Kalshi at the same time that inside traders cashed in on advanced knowledge of Trump administration moves.
And while prediction markets are still going strong currently, the looming crackdown has the attention of financial experts, one of whom said the regulatory regime could get “pretty intense.”
“These guys don’t have an ally in Congress,” a former Wall Street regulator, who was granted anonymity, told Politico. “To a certain extent, they might even be the new crypto as far as congressional attention from Democrats,” they said, referring to the broadly antagonistic stance Democrats held toward the crypto industry under the Biden administration.
But when it comes to fighting hard for any regulatory regime, the proof will be in the pudding. Democrats have reportedly begun preparation for a similar crackdown on the AI industry — an effort which is broadly popular with voters, but which poses a major challenge for the party’s pro-business leadership.
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