Pritzker Issues Immediate Ban: State Workers Blocked from Prediction Market Bets

• Illinois governor signs executive order prohibiting trading on nonpublic information
• Ban pertains to state employees, political appointees and members of agencies and boards
• California recently adopted a similar policy

Gov. J.B. Pritzker banned Illinois state employees from betting on prediction markets today, moving to block “insider trading” on platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket.

The governor’s order prohibits any “Illinois state employee, officer, appointee or board member of any State Agency” from leveraging their positions and access to inside information for gains on prediction markets or by way of event contracts.

Employees, appointees and board members are also banned from using proxies to profit on prediction markets.

Pritzker, an aspiring 2028 presidential candidate used the occasion to attack President Trump over perceived laxness in the oversight of prediction markets.

This opens the door to insider trading and abuse of confidential information,” said Pritzker in a statement. “While the Trump Administration continues to be riddled with stories of appointees looking to make a profit, Illinois is stepping up to ensure those who are serving the public not their own personal financial gain.”

In the statement, Pritzker’s office cites so-called “extensive reporting” of prediction markets suggesting White House insiders are making big bucks on prediction markets, leveraging their access to information that hasn’t been disclosed to the public.

“The ability to not only profit off insider knowledge, but also influence those outcomes, represents a dangerous escalation of corruption that continues to go unchecked by the federal government,” Pritzker added.

Illinois at Odds with Prediction Markets

Prediction markets are a relatively new industry, but the group of emerging operators and federal regulators have rapidly butted heads with the Land of Lincoln, as they have in a number of US states.

That suit drew rebuke from the states with Pritzker’s office noting the statement that the Trump Administration is attempting to infringe on states’ rights to oversee prediction markets.

“Such efforts would limit states’ ability to enforce consumer protections, establish guardrails, and prevent individuals from profiting off insider information in an industry that currently operates with little to no comprehensive regulation,” according to the press release.

“Illinois maintains that states must retain the ability to protect consumers, uphold ethical standards, and ensure that new forms of wagering do not undermine public trust.”

List of Politicians Banning Prediction Markets Grows

With his executive order, Pritzker joins a growing list of politicians, many of whom are on his side of the aisle, taking hard lines against prediction markets. Some members of Congress have barred staffers from trading on yes/no exchanges.

Last month, California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), likely another 2028 presidential hopeful, issued his own executive order barring Golden State officials from using nonpublic information for prediction markets profit.

The orders and intraoffice bans are logical steps for politicians to take because of yet, there are no laws banning insider trading on prediction markets, though some operators are taking steps to crack down on bad actors.