TLDR Kalshi referred 32 insider trading cases to the CFTC in the second quarter of 2026, pushing its 2026 total past 50. Polymarket has flagged more than 90 account holders to authorities in the U.S. and overseas this year. The CFTC has only filed civil charges against three prediction market traders despite the wave of tips. CFTC staffing cuts have left its enforcement division with about 100 people and no trial attorneys in Chicago. Lawmakers are pushing bills like the Public Integrity in Financial Prediction Markets Act to close legal gaps.
Prediction market platforms are flagging suspected insider traders faster than regulators can act on them. Kalshi and Polymarket have sent authorities more than 140 combined tips in 2026.
The New York Times reported that Kalshi referred 32 possible insider trading cases to the CFTC in the three months ending in June. Kalshi has now flagged more than 50 traders this year.
Polymarket has referred more than 90 account holders to authorities in the U.S. and abroad. That puts the platform ahead of Kalshi in raising alarms.
Despite these referrals, the CFTC has only brought civil charges against three prediction market traders. As many as 20 open investigations rely solely on evidence from Kalshi.
More than a dozen other prediction market platforms also operate in the U.S. That adds to the volume of potential cases regulators must sort through.
CFTC Staffing Falls to Multi-Year Low
The CFTC’s enforcement division has shrunk to its smallest size in at least two decades. Staff cuts under the Trump administration drove much of the decline.
The division now has about 100 people. They are responsible for policing the multitrillion-dollar commodities market as well as prediction markets.
Chicago has felt the cuts hardest. The office went from roughly 20 trial attorneys to