Pentagon memo bans insider bets on prediction markets over military data

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued an October 20 memo barring military personnel and Pentagon staff from using nonpublic information to bet on prediction markets such as Polymarket and Kalshi. He warned that such wagers create signals hostile intelligence services could exploit to anticipate US operations.

• Ban covers all financial platforms, including Polymarket and Kalshi
• In April a US Army soldier was charged over $410K in Polymarket bets
• Anti-Corruption Data Collective found 152 suspicious wallets that won $8M
• Violations may bring disciplinary and criminal action under UCMJ