Evers Bans State Workers From Using Insider Info on Prediction Markets
The order lands during a clash between Wisconsin and federal authorities over whether prediction platforms are gambling or financial markets.
Overview
- Gov. Tony Evers signed an executive order that bars executive-branch employees from using nonpublic information to place or time bets on prediction markets, covering roughly 30,000 workers.
- The order also prohibits passing insider knowledge to others for wagers and sets penalties that can include firing, an Ethics Commission referral, or a criminal investigation.
- Prediction markets let people buy contracts tied to outcomes such as elections, sports, or policy moves, and platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket have grown more popular and drawn new scrutiny.
- Wisconsin’s Department of Justice has sued several major platforms for facilitating illegal sports betting, while the federal government has countersued the state and argues federal market rules control.
- A separate Ho-Chunk Nation lawsuit against Kalshi is moving ahead after a federal judge recognized the tribe’s right to sue, though he denied a request to pause the platform on tribal land.