Polymarket tries to show it can play by the rules

MarketsPolymarket tries to show it can play by the rulesAfter years of operating in a legal gray area, the platform touted its cooperation with authorities in identifying a soldier who allegedly bet using inside information.Listen to this article with a free account00:0000:00Add NBC News to GoogleSpecial forces soldier arrested for placing bets01:12Get more newsLiveonShareAdd NBC News to GoogleApril 24, 2026, 4:51 PM EDTBy Rob WileFour years after Polymarket paid $1.4 million to settle with U.S. regulators and barred bets from American users, the explosive case against a soldier charged with trading on classified information is offering the prediction market a chance to come in from the cold.Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.Gannon Ken Van Dyke, an active-duty special forces soldier, was charged with using advance knowledge of the U.S. operation to capture Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro to make $440,000 via Polymarket bets.The arrest came after months of speculation in the press and on social media that insiders with access to classified information have been capitalizing on their knowledge. In fact, Van Dyke’s alleged Maduro bet was picked up by media outlets almost immediately after it occurred, though his identity was not yet known. Other successful bets that raised suspicions have involved Google’s 2025 Year in Search, the launch of OpenAI’s AI web browser and events surrounding the war with Iran.The concerns drew the attention of Michael Selig, a member of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, who is looking to assert his agency’s jurisdiction over prediction markets amid a push from individual states while also trying to resist a narrative that his agency was not committed to policing insider trading. On Friday, founder Shayne Coplan suggested Polymarket planned to continue to aggressively crack down on illicit activity on the platform.“Grateful the DOJ officially acknowledged Polymarke...