Evers Prohibits Prediction Market Bets for Wisconsin Workers

Article Summary –

Democratic Governor Tony Evers of Wisconsin has signed an executive order prohibiting state employees from using insider information for personal gain amidst a growing trend of prediction markets. This action is a precautionary measure responding to incidents in other states, such as a U.S. Special Forces member profiting from classified information, and mirrors similar bans in states like Illinois and New York, as well as at the federal level where the Senate has banned prediction market usage. Wisconsin also faces legal challenges involving prediction markets, as the state has sued to halt their operations, claiming illegal sports betting facilitation, which has prompted a lawsuit from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission in response.

Democratic Gov. Tony Evers issued an executive order prohibiting Wisconsin state employees from leveraging insider information for personal financial gain. This action responds to the rise of prediction markets where the public can bet on various events, including political elections.

According to a news release dated May 14, Evers’ office stated there are no known cases of insider misuse in Wisconsin, yet the order addresses incidents in other regions.

The release referenced a U.S. Special Forces member whom the U.S. Department of Justice charged on April 23. He allegedly used confidential information to earn over $400,000 on a prediction market, tied to a U.S. mission involving Nicolás Maduro.

An NPR report highlighted how campaign staffers wager on candidates using unreleased poll data. “With exclusive insights, it’s almost foolish not to bet before the information is public,” one staffer commented to NPR.

Prediction markets like Polymarket and Kalshi enable bets on events from sports to political outcomes. Each week, billions circulate through these platforms, CNN reported.

In Wisconsin, betting on elections one participates in is illegal. The new order prevents state executive branch employees from profiting from nonpublic information in prediction markets. It excludes legislators, judges, or their staff, as the Cap Times reported.

Wisconsin aligns with states like Illinois, New York, Maryland, and California in banning insider trading, per the release. The U.S. Senate similarly banned prediction markets in April. Minnesota banned them entirely, prompting a lawsuit from the Trump administration.

Wisconsin’s Democratic Attorney General Josh Kaul in April sued certain prediction markets to halt their operations, as most sports betting is illegal in the state, except on tribal lands. “Thinly disguising unlawful conduct doesn’t make it lawful,” Kaul stated. “These companies’ alleged facilitation of sports betting in Wisconsin should be shut down.”

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission sued Wisconsin, contesting state actions as interference with federal law.

Donald Trump Jr., son of the former president, serves as an adviser for Kalshi and Polymarket.