Updated · Rockland County Business Journal · May 6
Hochul signs order banning New York state employees from prediction market insider trading
Updated
Updated · Rockland County Business Journal · May 6
Hochul signs order banning New York state employees from prediction market insider trading
11 articles · Updated · Rockland County Business Journal · May 6
Executive Order No. 60, signed on 22 April and effective immediately, also bars tipping others with nonpublic information gained through official duties.
The move follows rising concern over real-money event contracts, including $138 million wagered on New York City's mayoral election and recent high-profile alleged insider-trading cases.
Illinois adopted a similar order a day earlier, while New York regulators and Attorney General Letitia James are separately challenging prediction market operators and licensing in the state.
Amidst lawsuits and insider trading charges, can prediction market platforms survive the escalating regulatory war?
As states and feds clash in court, will prediction markets be treated as finance or as gambling?
New York's Executive Order Targets $25.7 Billion Prediction Market Insider Trading Crisis
Overview
In response to rapid growth and insider trading scandals in prediction markets, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed Executive Order No. 60 on April 22, 2026, banning state employees from using nonpublic information for profit on unlicensed platforms. This followed lawsuits by New York and Wisconsin against major crypto platforms for illegal gambling, and was influenced by similar actions in Illinois. The order enforces ethics rules and labels such insider activity as corrupt. Meanwhile, challenges like anonymity and jurisdictional conflicts hinder regulation, prompting bipartisan federal bills and industry safeguards. Hochul's order has already chilled state employee participation and may inspire other states amid ongoing federal-state legal battles over market oversight.