Minnesota governor bans state workers from insider trading on prediction markets
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz issued an executive order on July 28, 2026, banning state workers from using private government information to place bets on prediction markets. The move follows a federal judge's temporary block of a new Minnesota state law that would have banned prediction markets entirely. Walz said the action reinforces strong ethical standards. The order comes amid broader regulatory pressure on the sector, including Wisconsin's lawsuit against Kalshi, Robinhood, Coinbase, Polymarket, and Crypto.com.
Walz's order lands in a regulatory gap his own state's legislature just lost. The federal judge blocked Minnesota's felony ban hours earlier, so the governor pivoted to ethics rules with sharper teeth on state employees. Kalshi had already barred politicians from its platform; Minnesota now universalizes that restriction across its workforce. The executive order does not shield the platform from future state legislation, but it gives Walz political cover while courts settle whether CFTC registration bars state bans.
Traders and platforms still face the Wisconsin suit and active fights in Washington, Michigan, and New York. Each state that writes its own rules deepens the compliance patchwork Kalshi and Polymarket must navigate. The order makes Minnesota the first state to formally codify insider-trading restrictions for prediction markets through executive action rather than legislation. Pennsylvania, Illinois, and other states weighing bans may copy the format if it survives legal review. Kalshi's compliance team now tracks not just federal registration but state employee ethics wa.