Defense Secretary Hegseth barred Department of Defense personnel in an Oct. 20 memorandum from using classified or unclassified nonpublic information for financial transactions, directly or through others. The restriction covers Polymarket, Kalshi, betting services and other financial platforms, but does not ban military personnel from prediction markets altogether. Violators could face administrative, disciplinary or criminal action.
The directive follows the prosecution of Special Forces soldier Gannon Ken Van Dyke, who pleaded not guilty in April. Prosecutors allege he used confidential military information to place about $33,000 in bets that yielded more than $404,000 after U.S. forces captured Nicolás Maduro. Hegseth warned that suspicious wagers could give foreign intelligence agencies clues about military operations.
