A group of US lawmakers has called on the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to ban gambling on US elections, pointing out that such practices are harmful to public trust. The letter highlights that election-related betting on Polymarket hit a record high following the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump and the withdrawal of President Joe Biden from the 2024 presidential race, with trading volumes almost doubling to $1 billion in July. Several lawmakers, including Senators Elizabeth Warren, Richard Blumenthal and Chris Van Hollen, supported the letter, warning that such actions could shift voter motivations from genuine political beliefs to financial incentives, and fearing that political insiders could use nonpublic information for personal gain. Lawmakers have called on the CFTC to take action to prevent the "commoditization" of US elections and to immediately develop and implement rules to restore public trust. Recently, Jeff Merkley also wrote to urge the CFTC to reject a proposal by private prediction market operators to legalize betting on US election results, which the CFTC ultimately rejected.