Hegseth bars Pentagon staff from nonpublic-info bets

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has directed Defense Department and military personnel not to use nonpublic government information to wager on military operations, including through prediction markets such as Polymarket and Kalshi. The prohibition covers both classified and unclassified nonpublic information. Violations could bring administrative, disciplinary or criminal penalties under military or federal law. Hegseth warned that betting activity can create signals foreign intelligence services might use to anticipate U.S. movements, targets and operational timing. The directive follows allegations that Army Master Sgt. Gannon Ken Van Dyke used advance knowledge of the operation to capture Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro to place bets that earned him more than $400,000. Van Dyke has pleaded not guilty. No factual disputes appear in the record. Coverage differs in emphasis, with some accounts describing the move as a ban on insider trading with military secrets and another focusing on a ban on prediction-market bets on military operations.