US Defense Secretary: Pentagon Personnel Banned from Using Military Information to Bet on Prediction Markets

Odaily Report: US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has banned personnel at the Pentagon and defense agencies from using non-public information to place bets on upcoming military operations, including trading on prediction market platforms such as Kalshi and Polymarket.

In a memo sent Tuesday to senior officials at the Department of Defense and related defense agencies, Pete Hegseth stated that the ban covers both classified and unclassified information, and noted that betting on prediction markets could expose military operations and affect operational security and personnel judgment.

The directive follows allegations that US Army soldier Gannon Ken Van Dyke was charged in April with using classified information about the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro to bet on related outcomes on Polymarket and earn more than $400,000. Prosecutors said he participated in planning and executing the operation, and Van Dyke has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

In February of this year, Israeli authorities arrested and charged a military reservist and a civilian on suspicion of using classified information to bet on Polymarket regarding the outcome of an Israeli military strike on Iran. (Cointelegraph)