House Bill 1047, which aimed to legalize online and retail sports betting in Oklahoma, was rejected by the Senate on April 22, 2026, by a 27-21 vote.Despite having tribal...
US soldier charged for using insider info on Maduro raid bets
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) arrested Gannon Ken Van Dyke, a U.S. special forces soldier, on April 23, 2026, for using insider information to make bets on Maduro’s capture on Polymarket.
The U.S. Army Master Sergeant is believed to have bet more than $33,000 on the prediction platform hours before Trump’s announcement that Maduro was captured, with the bets generating around $409,000 in winnings.
The Southern District of New York’s indictment showed that Van Dyke was charged with unlawful use of confidential government information, theft of nonpublic governmental information, wire fraud, and commodities fraud. It was also revealed that Van Dyke was part of the planning and execution team of the Maduro operation.
Jay Clayton, U.S. Attorney in the Southern District of New York, commented:
“Prediction markets are not a haven for using misappropriated confidential or classified information for personal gain. The defendant allegedly violated the trust placed in him by the United States Government by using classified information about a sensitive military operation to place bets on the timing and outcome of that very operation, all to turn a profit. That is clear insider trading and is illegal under federal law.”
Polymarket added:
“When we identified a user trading on classified government information, we referred the matter to the DOJ & cooperated with their investigation. Insider trading has no place on Polymarket. Today’s arrest is proof the system works.”
The CFTC has additionally stated that it has filed a complaint against Van Dyke, accusing him of insider trading. President Trump has also commented on the issue of prediction markets leading to leaks of classified info, to which he said he was not happy with any of it.
Polymarket is in discussions to get $400 million in a new funding round, which would send the prediction markets’ valuation up to $15 billion, compared to the October 2025...
