Key Highlights
- Governor Kathy Hochul enacted Executive Order No. 60 prohibiting state workers from leveraging confidential intelligence on prediction platforms
- Offenders face potential termination, penalties, or criminal prosecution
- The directive focuses on platforms facilitating wagers on political developments, defense operations, and societal trends
- Investigations have identified over $1 billion in questionable transactions linked to governmental decisions and military operations
- The state has simultaneously filed lawsuits against Coinbase and Gemini alleging unlawful digital gambling activities
Governor Kathy Hochul of New York has issued an executive directive prohibiting state government workers from exploiting privileged information for financial advantage on prediction markets.
Executive Order No. 60 received official filing on April 22, 2026. The mandate encompasses all state officials and personnel serving under the Governor’s authority, including those appointed to public authorities by her administration.
The directive explicitly forbids any government employee from utilizing confidential intelligence obtained during their official responsibilities to generate profits or minimize financial losses through prediction market activities.
According to Hochul, the measure is fundamentally about preserving public confidence in government. She emphasized that individuals in public service must leverage their positions to serve citizens, not to pursue private wealth accumulation.
“Enriching yourself through wagers based on privileged access to information represents pure corruption,” Hochul declared in her official statement.
Defining Prediction Market Platforms
The executive directive characterizes a prediction market as any unauthorized platform enabling individuals to trade contracts tied to prospective outcomes. These outcomes span political contests, athletic competitions, and governmental decisions.
Such platforms have experienced explosive expansion in recent times. This rapid development has sparked alarm about the potential for individuals possessing governmental intelligence to abuse it for monetary benefit.
Hochul referenced the “contemporary explosion of prediction markets” as justification for her action. She indicated these platforms have amplified the vulnerability to unethical behavior by those with privileged information access.
Consequences for violating this prohibition are substantial. Workers who breach the directive risk termination, disciplinary measures, or referral to criminal investigators and ethics watchdogs.
Every public authority throughout the state must now establish internal guidelines to implement these restrictions.
Questionable Trading Activity Raises Concerns
The directive follows multiple investigations connecting substantial prediction market earnings to governmental activities.
During January, an unidentified individual allegedly collected over $400,000 through wagers predicting Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro’s political removal.
Probes have additionally revealed exceeding $1 billion in suspiciously “perfectly-timed” predictions associated with Iranian conflict developments. These wagers involved forecasting military strike coordinates, timing, and conditions affecting the Strait of Hormuz.
The executive action expands upon current provisions within New York’s Public Officers Law, which previously prohibited state personnel from exploiting privileged intelligence for individual advantage. Hochul’s measure applies these regulations to emerging digital platforms.
Hochul further condemned federal inaction on this matter. She stated New York is “assuming leadership responsibility” while the national government remains “willfully ignorant.”
New York has previously moved against particular platforms. Last October, state Gaming Commission officials issued a cease-and-desist notice to Kalshi, charging the organization with operating unauthorized mobile sports betting services.
This week witnessed the state initiating litigation against both Coinbase and Gemini for purported illegal online gambling operations.
