Recognizing Torres’ position on prediction market platforms

To the editor,

I’d like to flag an important position Ritchie Torres has taken against the relatively new but rapidly growing prediction market platforms like Polymarket and  Kalshi. These prediction platforms allow anonymous traders to place large bets on geopolitical events like the Iran ceasefire or the fall of Maduro or even Taylor Swift’s engagement just before — sometimes as little as a few minutes before — they occur.  Winners are often bettors who have some special access or insider knowledge, leading to large payouts and increasing distrust in our systems.  “What is the statistical likelihood of anyone other than an insider trader placing a  winning bet 12 minutes before a market moving presidential announcement?” Torres asked in an interview recently.

Representative Torres sits on the House Financial Services Committee as well as the subcommittee on digital assets and financial technology. He is calling for a federal investigation into the suspicious flurry of trading activity in oil and equity futures markets just before President Trump announced a ceasefire in Iran this month.

Rep. Torres is to be commended for calling out the transformation of our government’s business into a betting market of lucrative opportunity — for some.

BETTY SUGARMAN