Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz has signed an executive order barring state employees from using confidential or nonpublic government information to participate in prediction markets, saying the measure is designed to strengthen ethics rules and preserve public confidence in state government.
The action arrives as online prediction markets continue attracting more users, letting people wager on the outcomes of future events ranging from elections and sporting contests to government decisions and economic developments. Walz argued the platforms are especially vulnerable to insider trading because people with access to confidential information could gain an unfair financial advantage.
Announcing the order on social media, Walz criticized President Donald Trump and prediction market operator Kalshi.
“Trump and companies like Kalshi are more interested in lining their pockets than protecting public trust and keeping people safe,” Walz wrote. “Regardless of their grift, I’m taking action to reinforce the strong ethical standards we have in Minnesota.”
Walz separates employee ethics rules from wider prediction market legal dispute
The executive order covers employees across Minnesota state agencies, including the governor, lieutenant governor and agency commissioners. It bars them from using “not public data or confidential information obtained in the course of their state agency employment to further their private interest, or the private interest of another person or organization, through participation in a prediction market.” The restriction still applies even when no profit is made or loss avoided.
Walz said in the order that “Ethical and transparent government is vital to maintaining trust and confidence in the integrity of our public institutions.” He added that he has “been a longtime advocate for strong ethical standards in government because the public trust should never be exploited for personal profit.”
The order describes prediction markets as systems allowing consumers to wager on future outcomes involving elections, sports, official government actions, legal proceedings and economic indicators.
Employees who break the policy could face disciplinary measures, including dismissal. The order also says violations may carry criminal penalties under existing Minnesota law.
Walz further encouraged public bodies outside the executive branch, including the Legislature, the judicial branch and other state entities, to review their own ethics policies and consider similar restrictions aimed at preventing misuse of confidential information.
The executive order was signed on July 28, 2026. It takes effect 15 days after publication in the State Register and filing with the Minnesota Secretary of State, remaining in force until rescinded or until it expires under state law.
The announcement follows a separate legal dispute over Minnesota’s broader effort to regulate prediction markets. On Tuesday (July 28), a federal judge granted a preliminary injunction preventing the state from enforcing a law scheduled to take effect on 1 August while challenges from Kalshi, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and QCX LLC, which operates Polymarket US, proceed.
Judge Katherine M. Menendez said the plaintiffs had shown they were likely to succeed on claims that the Commodity Exchange Act preempts Minnesota’s statute, although she stressed the ruling is preliminary and the case will continue. Kalshi welcomed the decision, arguing regulation of federally designated event-contract markets rests with federal authorities rather than individual states.
Featured image: Gage Skidmore via Flickr / CC BY-SA 2.0
