White House staff was warned against betting on Iran war

April 10 (UPI) -- Members of the White House staff were warned last month about placing bets on prediction markets on the Iran war using nonpublic information.

An email obtained by CBS News Thursday was sent from the White House Management Office to staff members on March 24. It raised concerns about reports of government officials using nonpublic information to place bets on prediction markets like Kalshi and Polymarket."

"All White House employees are reminded that the misuse of nonpublic information by government employees for financial benefit is a very serious offense and will not be tolerated," the email said.

The email also noted that using nonpublic information for financial benefit is a criminal offense.

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"Government regulation ethics prohibit the use of nonpublic government information for the private benefit of an employee or any other third party," the email said.

The Iran war has attracted attention from bettors on prediction markets in recent weeks. Reports of suspicious betting and trading activity on the oil market and stocks raised concern about insider trading.

One instance of a boom in trading on oil futures occurred minutes before President Donald Trump announced he was postponing strikes on Iran's energy infrastructure on March 23, Bloomberg News and the Financial Times reported.

White House spokesman Kush Desai called reports suggesting Trump administration officials were insider trading "baseless and irresponsible."

President Donald Trump's son, Donald Trump Jr., is an adviser and investor in Polymarket and also serves as a strategic adviser to Kalshi. Polymarket recently allowed bettors to wager on the likelihood of nuclear war but that market has been removed.

This week in Washington

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth speaks during a press briefing at the Pentagon on Wednesday. Yesterday, the United States and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire, with the U.S. suspending bombing in Iran for two weeks if the country reopens the Straight of Hormuz. Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo