Pentagon Bans Military Insider Trading on Polymarket, Kalshi After $400K Betting Scandal

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has prohibited U.S. military personnel and Pentagon employees from using nonpublic information to trade on prediction markets, warning that bets on military operations could expose sensitive intelligence to American adversaries and endanger troops. The directive follows the prosecution of a Special Forces soldier accused of making more than $400,000 on Polymarket by betting on a mission to capture Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. In an Oct. 20 memorandum titled “Do Not Compromise Military Operations for Personal Financial Gain,” Hegseth declared that all Department of Defense personnel are barred from conducting financial transactions using nonpublic information, whether directly…