Amid a rise in online bets being made in the wake of the ongoing war between the United States and Iran, alarm bells are now ringing inside the White House, with several officials under scrutiny.
As per a Wall Street Journal report, senior officials have raised concerns that insider information from the administration may have influenced bets on online market platforms such as Polymarket and Kalshi. Track LIVE updates on US-Iran war
Citing lawyers in the White House, WSJ added that it would be impossible to ascertain who was leaking the information and how they were being made, especially as Polymarket allows users to make anonymous accounts.
Various wagers have been made since the start of the war in February. Furthermore, a memo was sent to staff in the White House in March, which prohibited them from revealing non-public information for financial reasons.
Since the start of the war, several bets have been made online, which sparked concern within the administration of a leak.
The key bet, which sounded the alarm, was made on whether a ceasefire would be announced in April.
Trump announced an initial ceasefire with Iran on April 8. As per blockchain research firm Bubblemaps, three anonymous Polymarket accounts made over $600,000 for correctly betting on the April ceasefire announcement.
Trump’s teleprompter operator put on leave
The “insider trading” in the White House snowballed after Trump’s teleprompter operator, Gabriel Perez, was investigated for providing early access to presidential speeches.
The White House confirmed that Perez is under investigation by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission for making over $100,000 in wagers.
Press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the White House was unaware of his bets and pointed to ethics guidelines banning employees from making them. She added that President Trump was furious over the notion of officials inside the administration trading on inside information.
Following the investigation, Perez, who has worked as a technical assistant to the president since 2016, has been placed on unpaid leave.
Not the first instance
The Wall Street Journal reported that similar bets were also placed during the 2024 presidential election over Trump’s pick for vice president.
Citing people familiar with the matter, two unreported election bets were based on tips that Trump would pick JD Vance as his running mate.
At Polymarket, election-related bets account for over $325 million.
Meanwhile at Kalshi, dozens of campaign staffers have been blocked from using the platform to bet on their own candidates.
“Our teams work 24/7 to monitor and flag any anomalous trading patterns, and we investigate every single one of them,” Elisabeth Diana, the spokeswoman for Kalshi, as reported by WSJ.
