{"id":239849,"date":"2026-03-27T21:54:08","date_gmt":"2026-03-27T21:54:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/239849\/"},"modified":"2026-03-27T21:54:08","modified_gmt":"2026-03-27T21:54:08","slug":"california-gov-gavin-newsom-bans-state-officials-from-making-bets-on-polymarket-kalshi-with-insider-info","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/239849\/","title":{"rendered":"California Gov. Gavin Newsom bans state officials from making bets on Polymarket, Kalshi with insider info"},"content":{"rendered":"

California Gov. Gavin Newsom<\/a> on Friday banned state-appointed officials with insider information from making bets on prediction markets as the popular gambling sites stoke controversy<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The executive order added to existing ethics rules that prohibit state officials from using information unknown to the public to enrich themselves or family members, as recent huge payouts on Kalshi and Polymarket have raised suspicions of insider trading.<\/p>\n

Users can place bets on everything from sporting games to pop culture and politics \u2013 and anonymous traders have recently made millions with shockingly accurate wagers<\/a> related to US-Israeli strikes on Iran and the ouster of Venezuelan dictator Nicol\u00e1s Maduro in January.<\/p>\n

California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday banned state-appointed officials with insider information from making bets on prediction markets. Anadolu via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Newsom\u2019s press office tagged Polymarket and Kalshi in a mocking tweet late Thursday<\/a>, asking what the odds were that the guv would ban insider trading on such markets within the next 24 hours.<\/p>\n

Kalshi replied that the \u201codds are 100%\u201d because \u201cKalshi already bans insiders.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis makes sense, and we already do this. At Kalshi, insider trading violates our rules, and we enforce them when we catch insiders,\u201d a Kalshi spokesperson told The Post, adding that government employees \u201cshould be aware\u201d that insider trading violates the law.<\/p>\n

Polymarket did not immediately respond to The Post\u2019s requests for comment.<\/p>\n

Will @CAGovernor<\/a> Gavin Newsom ban CA officials & appointees from betting on predictive markets with insider info in the next 24 hours??<\/p>\n

Can we get odds for this? \ud83d\udc40 @Polymarket<\/a> @Kalshi<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Governor Newsom Press Office (@GovPressOffice) March 26, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

Polymarket and Kalshi earlier this week added new guidelines<\/a> to their platforms that seek to prevent insider trading \u2013 as members of Congress introduced a flurry of legislation targeting the companies, including a proposed ban on bets related to terrorism and war.<\/p>\n

In his announcement of the new ban, Newsom took a swing at the Trump administration \u2014 the latest in a series of attacks from the lefty pol, who\u2019s widely viewed as a likely 2028 Democratic presidential contender.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt a time when Trump\u2019s Washington is riddled with ethical failures and insider profiteering, California is drawing a bright line,\u201d Newsom said in a statement<\/a>. \u201cWe\u2019re not going to tolerate this kind of corruption in California.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dems have criticized the Trump family\u2019s ties to prediction markets. Donald Trump Jr. is an adviser to both Kalshi and Polymarket.<\/p>\n

Users can place bets on everything from sporting games to pop culture and politics. maurice norbert \u2013 stock.adobe.com<\/p>\n

Newsom is not the first lawmaker to take aim at prediction markets<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.) announced Wednesday that he has banned all of his office staffers from using prediction markets.<\/p>\n

Sens. John Curtis (R-Utah) and Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) have pushed legislation to hand over control of prediction markets to state regulators, not federal ones, arguing that the companies\u2019 new anti-insider trading guidelines are not enough.<\/p>\n

Two separate bipartisan proposals introduced in the House and Senate this week seek to ban members of Congress and the president from placing bets on prediction markets related to politics.<\/p>\n

Kalshi is being sued for refusing to pay out bets related to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei\u2019s ouster. NurPhoto via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Polymarket\u2019s main trading platform is located offshore and the company does not technically allow American bettors to use the site, so it is able to escape CFTC regulations.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But there are numerous online guides that detail how US users can skirt these blockages using a VPN, raising questions around how the rules are enforced.<\/p>\n

Rival Kalshi \u2013 an American prediction market \u2013 has said it \u201cdoesn\u2019t allow markets directly tied to death\u201d on its platform, after suspected insiders made bets worth $54 million over former Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei\u2019s ouster.<\/p>\n

Kalshi is being sued for refusing to pay out the bets after Khamenei was killed in US-Israeli air strikes.<\/p>\n

The company also recently took its first punitive actions against alleged inside traders. It banned and fined a MrBeast <\/a>employee who allegedly traded on contracts related to the YouTuber\u2019s content, as well as Kyle Langford, a former GOP gubernatorial candidate in California who bet on himself to win.<\/p>\n

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