Governor Stein bans NC state employees from prediction market betting
Gov. Josh Stein takes action against potential insider betting after Fort Bragg soldier case raised ethics concerns.
RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA — Governor Josh Stein signed an executive order Wednesday prohibiting North Carolina state employees from using insider knowledge to place bets on prediction markets, expanding ethics rules to cover emerging gambling platforms.
The order targets platforms like Polymarket and Kalshi, which allow users to wager on events ranging from sports outcomes to government decisions including military action and vaccine approvals. Stein said the measure aims to maintain public trust in government decision-making.
“When people use non-public information they have gained at work for unfair gain, we run into trouble,” Stein said. “People need to have faith that the public servants are working on their behalf, not leveraging their knowledge unfairly to win a bet and make money.”
Building on Existing Ethics Laws
The executive order builds upon the North Carolina State Ethics Act, which already prohibits public servants from insider trading. Stein emphasized he has no evidence of current violations among state workers.
“To be clear, I do not have any reason to believe that any state employees are currently making these unethical bets,” he said. “I don’t expect the executive order will impact their daily lives, but what it will do is increase the public’s confidence that we work for them.”
The governor said recent events and conversations with his staff motivated the action. Federal prosecutors revealed last month that a U.S. Army soldier stationed at Fort Bragg earned $400,000 using classified information to bet on the removal of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
Legislative Action Pending
“It’s corrupting people’s faith in the government,” Stein said regarding the broader issue of government employees using insider information for personal gain.
State House Democrats filed legislation earlier this month that would ban all betting on predictive markets in North Carolina. The bill has not yet received a hearing in the legislature.
The executive order aims to address potential ethical concerns before they become widespread problems. By clarifying expectations for state employees, officials hope to prevent situations that could undermine public confidence in government operations.
