According to Cointelegraph, bipartisan U.S. lawmakers Adrian Smith and Nikki Budzinski have jointly introduced the Preventing Real-time Exploitation and Deceptive Insider Congressional Trading Act (PREDICT Act). The bill aims to prohibit members of Congress, the President, the Vice President, and politically appointed officials from trading on prediction markets regarding the outcomes of political events, policy decisions, and government actions. The ban also applies to the spouses and dependents of these officials. Violators will face penalties including a 10% fine on the total contract value and the forfeiture of all profits to the U.S. Treasury. The introduction of this bill comes amid increased legislative and regulatory scrutiny of prediction markets. Budzinski noted that recent cases of unknown traders making substantial profits from events such as the Iran conflict and government shutdowns have raised concerns about the potential use of insider information. Earlier this month, Democratic lawmakers introduced another bill called the BETS OFF Act, and Senator Chris Murphy also accused individuals of using insider information to bet on Trump's military actions.