Governors Hochul and Pritzker Issue Executive Orders Banning Insider Trading on Prediction Markets
New York and Illinois governors issued the first US executive orders specifically targeting prediction market insider trading by state employees, prohibiting officials from using non-public government information to trade event contracts.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker issued executive orders in the final week of April 2026 prohibiting state employees and officials from using non-public government information to trade event contracts on prediction market platforms. The orders are the first gubernatorial actions in the United States specifically targeting prediction market insider trading and were issued within 48 hours of the Fort Bragg arrest of Master Sergeant Gannon Ken Van Dyke.
Hochul's order covers all New York state employees, contractors, and political appointees. Senior officials are required to disclose prediction market holdings. The order does not prohibit participation outright but creates a legal basis for prosecuting officials who trade on non-public state information under existing corruption statutes. "Getting rich by betting on inside information is corruption, plain and simple," Hochul said.
Pritzker's Illinois order mirrors the New York framework, adding targeted restrictions on procurement officials and financial regulators whose advance knowledge of government decisions could provide tradeable market advantages. Both governors cited the Van Dyke case as a catalyst, though advisers to both offices noted the orders had been in preparation before the Fort Bragg arrest became public.
Neither order creates automatic criminal liability, but both establish enforcement pathways for state attorneys general. Illinois AG Kwame Raoul and New York AG Letitia James have each indicated they are reviewing prediction market trading records for state officials. Legal observers expect the first state-level enforcement actions under the orders to materialize within 60 to 90 days, most likely in cases where the link between an official's government role and their market positions is clearest.
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