Comer Probes Iran Prediction-Market Trades; Subpoenas Possible

House Oversight Chair James Comer announced the committee has opened an investigation into suspicious trades on prediction markets tied to Iran. The panel has begun requesting internal platform records and warned it may issue subpoenas if firms do not cooperate.

The inquiry follows a May 11 letter from seven House Democrats asking Comer to subpoena platform records and investigate apparent corruption and insider trading. The letter was signed by Representatives Chris Pappas, Maggie Goodlander, Sara Jacobs, Seth Magaziner, Seth Moulton, Dina Titus and Rashida Tlaib.

The lawmakers’ letter flagged several trading patterns. It alleges one trader made nearly $1 million on Iran-related wagers with a roughly 93% success rate, that 38 accounts netted more than $2 million around strikes on Feb. 28, and that 50 newly created accounts placed coordinated bets on a U.S.-Iran ceasefire on April 7. The lawmakers asked the committee to determine whether ethics rules, classification rules or financial disclosure laws were violated.

Comer expressed concern that government employees or military personnel could use nonpublic information to profit on prediction platforms. He said the committee will pursue records and will prepare subpoenas if voluntary cooperation is insufficient. “We’re starting to request information. That’s the process. That’s how it begins,” Comer said, and added his subpoenas generally hold up in court.

Representative Chris Pappas supports the Public Integrity in Financial Prediction Markets Act of 2026, a bill that would bar members of Congress and government employees from trading on political prediction markets when they possess nonpublic information tied to official duties. The Senate approved a separate measure banning members, staff and officers from participating in such markets, and the Senate minority leader urged the House and the White House to adopt similar restrictions.

The committee’s probe comes amid other enforcement and policy activity. Federal prosecutors previously charged a U.S. Army special forces member accused of using classified information to place trades tied to a raid aimed at Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro. Several governors have issued executive actions restricting state employees from using nonpublic information to bet on political or geopolitical outcomes.

Comer described prediction markets as largely unregulated and said lawmakers may need new laws to address trading tied to classified or nonpublic information. The Oversight Committee plans to collect platform records and related documents as it continues the inquiry.