Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA) has introduced proposed legislation that would ban prediction market contracts tied to terrorism, war, assassination, and death, directly challenging market regulator CFTC's shift toward looser regulation of event trading. It's just one new bill from Democrats targeting the event-contracts space.

The bill, dubbed the DEATH BETS Act, would strip the agency of discretion over whether to permit such contracts and write explicit prohibitions into law, putting Schiff on a collision course with CFTC Chair Mike Selig's deregulatory agenda.

Also on Wednesday, Senator Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat from Connecticut, pushed the Prediction Markets Security and Integrity Act to police fraud in the markets.

Because Republicans control the Senate majority and will maintain that control through at least the end of the year, it's unlikely that Democratic initiatives make immediate headway beyond the headlines they inspire.

War bets

Schiff, a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee that oversees the CFTC, is pressing the proposed ban on certain controversial contracts legislatively as the agency's new rulemaking takes shape.

Under the Commodity Exchange Act, the CFTC already has authority to block contracts tied to war, terrorism, or assassination if it determines they are contrary to the public interest. But enforcement hinges on the regulator's judgment, meaning the scope of protection shifts with agency leadership.

Schiff's bill would eliminate that flexibility. It would prohibit any CFTC-registered exchange from listing contracts that involve, relate to or reference terrorism, assassination, war or an individual's death. The prohibition extends to contracts that could be "construed as correlating closely" to a person's death, a notably broad standard.

"Betting on war and death creates an environment in which insiders can profit off of classified information, our national security is jeopardized, and violence is encouraged," Schiff said in a statement. "There is no justification for gambling on lives, or public benefit to be derived by such a market."

Rep. Mike Levin (D-CA) will be introducing companion legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives, according to a release from Schiff's office.

The proposal arrives as the CFTC, under Selig, rewrites its approach to regulating prediction markets. In February, the agency withdrew a 2024 proposal that would have broadly banned political prediction markets, with Selig criticizing the earlier effort as regulatory overreach.

Fraud policing

Blumenthal said his bill "puts guardrails on this out-of-control industry. It bans dangerous and unethical bets and protects consumers from fraud and other predatory practices."

The Democrat's effort goes after insider trading and market manipulation, he said, by applying "basic guardrails and safeguards."

It also returns some regulatory authority to the states, he said, which could run counter to the recent campaign from the CFTC's Selig to argue his agency has full legal authority over the prediction markets.

Blumenthal's bill would additionally echo Schiff's by banning bets on war, death and military action.

Jesse Hamilton contributed reporting.

UPDATE (March 11, 2026, 16:40 UTC): Adds information on Senator Richard Blumenthal's bill.