Hegseth orders US military to stop betting on Kalshi and Polymarket

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has issued a directive barring United States military personnel from using non-public information to place bets on prediction markets including Kalshi and Polymarket, according to a report in The Hill.

The order applies to undisclosed government information — the category that would give service members a material edge over civilian traders on contracts covering military operations, troop movements, or national security events.

The directive does not ban military personnel from using prediction markets outright. It targets the informational advantage, drawing a line between participation and exploitation of position.

No enforcement mechanism or penalty structure was named in the reporting.

The order arrives as both Kalshi and Polymarket face simultaneous legal pressure from state regulators and federal courts over the scope of their permitted contract categories. A directive from the Pentagon adds a separate layer of federal scrutiny to platforms that have argued their legitimacy rests on CFTC oversight alone.