{"id":1362,"date":"2026-08-07T16:04:51","date_gmt":"2026-08-07T16:04:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=1362"},"modified":"2026-08-07T16:04:51","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T16:04:51","slug":"dems-warn-prediction-markets-allowing-bets-on-wildfires-threaten-public-safety","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=1362","title":{"rendered":"Dems Warn Prediction Markets Allowing Bets on Wildfires Threaten Public Safety"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Read more The Trump Administration Has Lost 75 of 93 First Amendment Cases, Report Finds<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Several Democratic senators have sent a letter to Michael Selig, chair of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), expressing deep concern about online prediction gambling markets allowing bets on wildfires.<\/p>\n

The letter, sent earlier this week, notes that Polymarket \u2014 an online prediction gambling website \u2014 allowed users to bet on several questions relating to the Palisades and Eaton Fires near Los Angeles, California, last year. Those questions included how long it would take for the fires to be contained, to what extent the fires would spread, and how many acres total would burn, totaling around $1.2 million in bets.<\/p>\n

Future bets on these types of environmental events may not just violate ethical mores, but could lead to dangerous outcomes, critics have said.<\/p>\n

\u201cSomebody could place a bet and then be motivated to actually start a fire,\u201d said Ann Skeet, senior director of leadership ethics at Santa Clara University\u2019s Markkula Center for Applied Ethics, speaking to The Guardian<\/em>. \u201cThere\u2019s just the practical reality of what it is you might be motivating people to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

There\u2019s also the concern of whether someone should gain financially at the expense of someone else\u2019s misfortunes.<\/p>\n

\u201cWow \u2014 My first take is that it\u2019s morally reprehensible,\u201d said Sylvie Andrews, a California resident who lost her home in the Eaton Fire, speaking to High Country News<\/em>. \u201cThe fact that someone would feel OK doing that flabbergasts me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nine Democratic senators representing six different states \u2014 including California Sens. Adam Schiff and Alex Padilla \u2014 signed on to the letter addressed to Selig. <\/p>\n

Read more Trump Installs Project 2025 Author Dennis Kirk as Interior Department Watchdog<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThese markets risk creating perverse incentives, undermining public trust and commodifying human suffering in ways that warrant careful scrutiny,\u201d the letter-writers stated, noting that the Los Angeles fires \u201cclaim[ed] the lives of 31 people and destroy[ed] more than 16,000 structures.\u201d<\/p>\n

They added:<\/p>\n

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Offering bets on destructive wildfires threatens to minimize communities\u2019 suffering all so the rich and powerful can profit. There\u2019s also the heightened risk \u2014 according to state and local fire officials \u2014 that individuals could be tempted to commit arson in order to make sure their bets are successful.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u201cAs the United States faces yet another record-breaking fire season this year, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) cannot allow these prediction markets to offer unrestricted betting on wildfires,\u201d the senators explained. <\/p>\n

Recent polling suggests that Americans have mixed views when it comes to prediction markets, but want deeper regulation on individuals potentially manipulating them.<\/p>\n

According to a Politico <\/em>poll published in June, just 20 percent of respondents viewed such markets as positive for society, while 29 percent viewed them as negative. (Twenty eight percent said neither, and another 24 percent said they couldn\u2019t form an opinion.)<\/p>\n

A plurality of respondents, 33 percent, said \u201cthe government should make stricter requirements about who can place bets and what people can bet on,\u201d with only 19 percent saying the current rate of restrictions is fine, and just 11 percent saying there should be fewer restrictions.<\/p>\n

But when asked if markets should be regulated \u201cto prevent insider trading,\u201d a majority of respondents, 53 percent, said yes, while only 16 percent disagreed.<\/p>\n

Read more Coalition Calls on CA Governor to Commute State\u2019s Remaining 578 Death Sentences<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The prediction market website Polymarket had $1.2 million in bets placed on Los-Angeles area wildfires in 2025.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1362","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"\nDems Warn Prediction Markets Allowing Bets on Wildfires Threaten Public Safety - Smart Moving Home<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=1362\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Dems Warn Prediction Markets Allowing Bets on Wildfires Threaten Public Safety - Smart Moving Home\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The prediction market website Polymarket had $1.2 million in bets placed on Los-Angeles area wildfires in 2025.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=1362\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Smart Moving Home\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-08-07T16:04:51+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/?p=1362#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/?p=1362\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/ec0d70042821fd684a174c8d0e8becfa\"},\"headline\":\"Dems Warn Prediction Markets Allowing Bets on Wildfires Threaten Public Safety\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-07T16:04:51+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/?p=1362\"},\"wordCount\":584,\"commentCount\":0,\"articleSection\":[\"Interesting\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/?p=1362#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/?p=1362\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/?p=1362\",\"name\":\"Dems Warn Prediction Markets Allowing Bets on Wildfires Threaten Public Safety - 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