Representative Mike Levin and Senator Adam Schiff on March 10 introduced the so-called DEATH BETS Act, a bicameral bill aimed at banning virtual currency gambling related to war and violence in the United States.
The proposal comes in light of the rise of platforms such as Polymarket, which use digital assets to facilitate bets on tragic events. Member’s evaluation As “commercialization of tragedy” It must be stopped by regulators.
The legislative document aims to close a loophole that currently allows prediction market operators to offer contracts on the outbreak of war or the death of public figures. According to Congressman Levin, the stakes related to the U.S. military attack have already exceeded $500 million. a situation that you consider unacceptable.
Levin argued that War and betting on death should be illegal. He pointed out that the current system allows someone to make money from the outbreak of armed conflict.
Currently, it is established by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) based on the Commodity Exchange Act. It has certain powers to prohibit contracts that are contrary to the public interest. However, this power is at the discretion of the Committee.
The DEATH BETS Act would remove that ambiguity by codifying an absolute prohibition on war contracts, armed conflicts, assassinations or bets on the death of certain people, and terrorist-related events.
Senator Schiff noted that these markets not only pose ethical dilemmas, but also pose risks to national security. The official said this type of gambling creates an environment in which those with knowledge of classified information can profit, inciting violence and threatening the integrity of the country.
Impact on platforms such as Polymarket
This law is not limited to a single company, but its context refers directly to platforms that operate on digital currencies and smart contract technology.
Lawmakers highlight that $54 million in transactions were observed on Polymarket in the past week. About the future of Iran’s supreme leaderas well as bets on the capture of Ukrainian cities by Russian forces.
This platform has attracted attention due to its high accuracy. The prediction accuracy rate has reached approximately 90%as reported by CriptoNoticias.
If approved by Congress, the new rules would force decentralized markets to limit their offerings to only political or economic events, eliminating controversial “life-and-death” markets.
(Tag Translate)Bitcoin (BTC)
