(The Center Square) – Wisconsin voters could be subject to prosecution and their vote will not count if they place a wager on a prediction market on an election result and then attempt to vote in that election.
The Wisconsin Election Commission noted two state statutes, one which states that someone cannot vote in an election after wagering on the results and another that says it is a felony to intentionally vote in an election that they are not qualified to vote in.
“We want voters to understand that they cannot legally make a bet on an election and cast a ballot in that same election,” Administrator Meagan Wolfe said in a statement. “We are not able to police someone placing a bet on these platforms, but it’s important for voters to understand the consequences if they bet on an election outcome.”
The commission specifically named Kalshi and Polymarket as notable prediction markets with the option to wager on election results.
The prediction markets say that they are different than sports wagering because the markets are peer to peer instead of placing wagers where the company holds the other side of the wager.
A voter who wagers on a prediction market and then votes could be subject to voter qualification administrative challenges and cases could then be referred to a district attorney, the elections commission said.
There are no federal laws regarding prediction markets and elections but 23 states have laws related to prediction markets and elections.
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers previously created an executive order barring executive branch employees from disclosing or using any nonpublic information to profit from prediction markets.
