Xinhua News Agency: California bans officials from profiting in prediction markets using insider information

Odaily Planet Daily News: U.S. California Governor Newsom signed an executive order on the 27th that bans state administrative officials appointed by the governor from profiting in prediction markets by using inside information. In a statement, the governor’s office said that some officials in the United States who clearly have access to sensitive information from the federal government have extremely precise timing when placing “bets” in prediction markets. The statement also criticized some officials for turning public service into a way to “get rich quick.” The statement said that four prediction-trading cases show that people without inside information are extremely unlikely to make the relevant trades. The predicted profits range from tens of thousands to millions of dollars and involve multiple U.S. military actions related to Venezuela and Iran, and some predictions saw accounts opened a few days before the actions or bets placed within a few hours before the actions took place. Six suspected insiders placed bets on the U.S. launching a military strike against Iran, earning a total of $1.2 million, and they just happened to open prediction market accounts a few days before the conflict. (Xinhua News Agency)