CFTC and US Soldier Accused of Illegal Polymarket Bet Clash Over Prediction Market Interpretation
Key Takeaways
- •Van Dyke's legal team filed opposition papers in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York on Monday against the CFTC's request to submit an amicus brief in his criminal case.
- •The defense argued the CFTC, which has its own civil case against Van Dyke that a judge has stayed pending the criminal outcome, is seeking to advance its interests through an amicus filing rather than litigating directly.
- •Van Dyke was charged with fraud in April for allegedly trading Polymarket event contracts on the January removal of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro while holding nonpublic information about the operation, generating more than $400,000.
- •Van Dyke has pleaded not guilty to all charges, and a criminal trial could begin in late 2026 or early 2027.
- •The case has become a leading example cited by lawmakers and prediction market critics as evidence of potential manipulation, sharpening focus on how event contracts on platforms such as Kalshi and Polymarket are classified and regulated.
Gannon Ken Van Dyke, the US soldier accused of earning more than $400,000 by trading event contracts on Polymarket using nonpublic information, is pushing back against efforts by the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to weigh in on his criminal case.
In a filing submitted Monday to the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, Van Dyke's lawyers opposed the CFTC's request to file an amicus brief addressing claims raised in his defense. The commission's counsel had filed a notice seeking the court's permission to present its views on several of those claims, including Van Dyke's argument that event contracts offered on platforms like Polymarket are not "swaps" under the purview of the CFTC.
"The CFTC is no sheep 'friend of the Court' here," the defense attorneys wrote. "It is a regulatory wolf, with its own case against Mr. Van Dyke that it refuses to pursue itself. Rather, like a true coursing predator, the CTFC seeks to advance its own interests through the back door of an amicus brief instead of facing its own case against Mr. Van Dyke head on. This Court should not countenance the CFTC's litigation gambits."
US authorities charged Van Dyke with fraud in April, alleging he traded event contracts on Polymarket related to the removal of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in January — an operation about which he was privy to nonpublic information. The case has become one of the leading examples cited by lawmakers and critics of prediction markets as evidence of potential manipulation on platforms such as Kalshi and Polymarket, which has sharpened attention on how these contracts are classified and overseen.
A federal judge has already ordered the CFTC's civil case against Van Dyke stayed "pending the outcome of the criminal proceeding." Van Dyke has pleaded not guilty to all charges, and a criminal trial could potentially begin in late 2026 or early 2027.
Related: Kalshi ordered to stop broad range of prediction markets in Washington
