Pentagon bans insider trading on prediction markets, third US institution to wall itself off in 2026

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has barred US military and civilian personnel from trading on nonpublic information in betting platforms and prediction markets, naming Polymarket and Kalshi in a memo dated October 20, 2026. The prohibition applies whether the information used is classified or unclassified, Hegseth wrote in the memo . Violations, the document says, may result in administrative, disciplinary and, where appropriate, criminal action under the Uniform Code of Military Justice or applicable federal law. The directive stops short of the blanket ban on national-security betting that Congress requested. On May 1, 16 House members led by Rep.