Odaily Planet Daily reports: U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has prohibited Pentagon and defense agency personnel from placing bets on upcoming military operations using non-public information, including trading on prediction market platforms such as Kalshi and Polymarket.
In a memo sent to senior officials at the Department of Defense and related defense agencies on Tuesday, Pete Hegseth stated that the ban covers both classified and unclassified information, noting that bets on prediction markets could expose military operations and compromise operational security and personnel judgment.
Before this directive was issued, U.S. Army soldier Gannon Ken Van Dyke was charged in April with placing bets on Polymarket outcomes related to the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro using classified information, profiting over $400,000. Prosecutors allege his involvement in planning and executing the operation; Van Dyke has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
In February this year, Israeli authorities arrested and charged a military reservist and a civilian for allegedly using classified information to place bets on Polymarket regarding the outcomes of Israel’s military strike against Iran. (Cointelegraph)