--- title: "Don Davis Files Bill to Bar Candidates From Betting on Their Own Races" description: "His Republican opponent, Laurie Buckhout, paid Kalshi a $2,589.96 penalty in August for trading on contracts tied to her own candidacy." author: "rews desk" published: 2026-10-05T20:31:19Z modified: 2026-10-06T02:24:05Z url: https://rews.cc/a/don-davis-files-bill-to-bar-candidates-from-betting-on-their-fc8359 language: en tags: ["politics", "elections", "ai", "regulation", "trump", "us"] publisher: "Rews (https://rews.cc)" --- # Don Davis Files Bill to Bar Candidates From Betting on Their Own Races *His Republican opponent, Laurie Buckhout, paid Kalshi a $2,589.96 penalty in August for trading on contracts tied to her own candidacy.* By rews desk · October 5, 2026 · https://rews.cc/a/don-davis-files-bill-to-bar-candidates-from-betting-on-their-fc8359 ## In brief - Rep. Don Davis introduced a bill Monday to bar federal candidates from trading prediction market contracts on their own races - Violators would pay $10,000 or three times their net gain from the trade, whichever is larger - Kalshi fined his opponent, Laurie Buckhout, $2,589.96 and suspended her for three years over trades on her candidacy - The Senate banned senators and staff from prediction markets on April 30, but the rule doesn’t cover nonincumbent candidates - Congress won’t meet again until after the Nov. 3 midterms, so the bill can’t take effect this cycle Representative Don Davis, a North Carolina Democrat, introduced a bill on Monday to bar federal candidates from trading prediction market contracts on their own races, two months after Kalshi penalized his Republican opponent for it. The measure, the No Betting on Your Own Race Act, would fine any candidate caught trading event contracts tied to his or her own candidacy $10,000 or three times the net gain from the trade, whichever is larger. Mr. Davis’s office gave the bill first to \[CNBC\](\), which has a commercial relationship with Kalshi that includes a minority investment. He filed it during a pro forma session of the House. “We don’t want our athletes to bet on their games,” Mr. Davis said in a statement. “A candidate running for federal elected office should be treated exactly the same and should not be allowed to trade on their own election.” He said Congress “must pass this common-sense legislation” so that every federal campaign committee understands the rule. The big platforms already enforce it on their own, citing the risk of insider trading. The bill comes out of his own race. Laurie Buckhout, who is challenging Mr. Davis in North Carolina’s 1st Congressional District, settled with Kalshi in August after the company found she had traded on contracts about her candidacy. She bought less than $1,000 worth of contracts, according to a Kalshi disciplinary notice \[reported by The Carolina Journal\](\), and was fined $2,589.96 and suspended from the exchange for three years. Kalshi’s rules bar trading by anyone with “any influence, directly or indirectly” over how an event turns out, and a candidate can sway whether she wins. It was not clear when Ms. Buckhout placed the trades or exactly what she bet on, \[The Assembly reported\](\). “I bet on myself. Literally,” Ms. Buckhout said in a statement at the time. “It was a dumb mistake, and as soon as I learned there was an issue, I worked to make it right.” Mr. Davis called the trades “a disqualifying breach of public trust” in a post on X. The seat is a battleground. Ms. Buckhout narrowly lost to him in 2024. Federal regulators are looking at politicians’ trading, too. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission is [investigating Adam Kinzinger](https://rews.cc/a/cftc-is-investigating-adam-kinzinger-over-trades-on-his-own--02614e), the former Illinois congressman, over trades on his own presidential pardon. On April 30, the Senate \[unanimously approved by voice vote\](\) a change to its rules that bars senators and Senate staff from prediction markets. Senator Bernie Moreno, an Ohio Republican, sponsored it, and an amendment from Senator Alex Padilla, a California Democrat, added staff. Kalshi and Polymarket praised the move. The rule is not a law, and it doesn’t cover Senate candidates who aren’t already in office. The House hasn’t passed a ban of its own, though resolutions have been filed. Representative Ashley Hinson, an Iowa Republican, said on X after the Senate vote that she would introduce one, \[Fortune reported\](\). Mr. Davis’s bill has little to no chance of taking effect for this election. Neither chamber is scheduled to meet again until after the Nov. 3 midterms.