Osmond ChiaEconomic journalist
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White House staff were warned last month not to use inside information to bet on prediction markets.
The email was sent to staff on March 24, a day after US President Donald Trump announced a five-day pause in his threat to attack Iranian power plants and energy infrastructure.
He was referring to news reports that raised concerns that government officials were using non-public information to place bets on platforms like Kalshi or Polymarket.
White House spokesman Davis Ingle told the BBC that “any implication that administration officials are engaging in such activities without evidence is baseless and irresponsible reporting.”
The Wall Street Journal first reported the email on Thursday.
Ingle also said all federal employees are subject to government ethics guidelines that prohibit the use of privileged information for financial gain.
“The only special interest that will ever guide President Trump is the best interests of the American people,” he added.
The BBC has contacted Kalshi and Polymarket for comment.
Polymarket came under surveillance in January after a player made almost half a million dollars from the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro just before it was officially announced.
It was not clear who placed the bet. The anonymous account had a blockchain identifier consisting of letters and numbers.
The incident raised concerns about whether they had benefited from inside information about the US military operation.
Predictions can be related to anything. These are mainly sports, but users can also bet on whether the US central bank will lower interest rates or on the results of local elections.
Predictive market bets on conflict have fueled debate over how the industry should be regulated.
This week, U.S. Rep. Ritchie Torres, a Democrat who sits on the House Financial Services Committee, sent a letter to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission which requested an investigation into the “suspicious” transactions.
The commission regulates derivatives trading, which includes prediction markets.
In March, Democratic leaders introduced legislation This would completely ban betting on the prediction market related to war or military action.
“Corruption and exploitation currently thrive in the gaps and flaws of prediction markets,” said U.S. Senator Andy Kim of New Jersey.
“This manipulation lets a privileged few win big, at the expense of American workers,” he said.
