In 2024, Americans had their first opportunity to legally wager on the outcome of a national US election. Now, if two US Congressmen have their way, 2024 would be both the first and the last time Americans can legally wager on the outcome of an election. Late last week Representatives Andrea Salinas (D-OR) and Jamie Raskin (D-MD) introduced a bill that would permanently ban election betting in the US.
Under Salinas and Raskin’s plan, election betting ban would be banned as part of an addendum to the existing Commodity Exchange Act. (At its simplest, the Commodity Exchange Act regulates what good and services can legally be provided in the country.) A similar bill was introduced earlier this year by Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR), but didn’t move far in the dysfunctional House of Representatives.
Merkley voiced his support for the new bill in comments reported on by Legal Sports Report saying, “Betting on elections degrades them from an investment in leadership to a profit-maximizing game,” Merkley said in a statement. “In addition, this practice is corrupt since those betting can influence the outcome by funding late-cycle smear campaigns. It’s like betting on a baseball game when you control the umpire.
“It’s a great step forward to have House leaders like Rep. Raskin and Congresswoman Salinas take on this fight.”
Raskin explained his support for banning election betting saying, “With distrust in our electoral system at an all-time high, we must crack down on gambling in all US elections. Our democracy demands reliable and transparent processes to cast ballots and tally results, not a horserace clouded by gambling odds and bets placed.”
Whether the bill has any chance of passing into law is highly debatable. The current US Congress is one of the most unproductive in US history and has shown no signs of changing as it enters its final moments.