Hegseth bars Pentagon personnel from using nonpublic information to bet on military operations

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has banned Defense Department personnel from using nonpublic information to bet on U.S. military operations, according to an Oct. 20 memorandum sent to senior Pentagon leadership and combatant commanders. The ban covers classified and unclassified information and names the prediction markets Polymarket and Kalshi. Hegseth wrote that such trades create a signal foreign intelligence services could analyze to anticipate American movements, targets and timing. The memo said violations could bring administrative, disciplinary or criminal action under federal law or the Uniform Code of Military Justice. The directive follows growing scrutiny of service members in military-related prediction markets, including an April episode involving a Special Forces soldier.

The alternative source here, Reuters, does not cover the memo in its excerpt; it reports that Kalshi, Polymarket and their founders have given at least $5 million combined to Republican and Democratic groups this cycle amid state and federal scrutiny. CBS and The Washington Post focus on the memo, with CBS quoting Hegseth's warning and the Post calling it an insider-trading ban. Newsmax reports the ban similarly, stressing exposure of plans to foreign adversaries, while Fox covers a separate Hegseth announcement on weapons production.