Our Commitment
Rules, standards, and the principles that keep markets honest.
Polymarket is a prediction market platform built on the blockchain. Participants buy and sell shares in the outcomes of future events — from elections and geopolitics to financial markets, sports, and entertainment — and trades are matched between users, not against the house. The system works because traders are motivated to act on their expertise and trust that no one is gaming the outcome.
Polymarket is the enforcement leader.
The only insider trading arrest in prediction-market history happened because we caught it — a military insider allegedly trading on confidential information in a prediction market. We flagged the activity and referred it to federal authorities, working directly with the DOJ and CFTC to bring the case forward.
That outcome was possible for two reasons. Every trade on Polymarket is permanently recorded on-chain — visible to the world, with nowhere for misconduct to hide. And we were proactive: we built the surveillance and enforcement infrastructure to act on what the blockchain shows.
We've referred 90+ accounts to law enforcement and regularly cooperate with relevant authorities in their ongoing investigations. We keep details confidential while investigations are open, because that's what serious cooperation requires.
In Cooperation With: Relevant Law Enforcement and Regulators
On The Record
Federal authorities acknowledged Polymarket's cooperation.
In April 2026, the DOJ and CFTC simultaneously announced charges against a U.S. Army service member who allegedly used classified information to trade on prediction markets.
The DOJ publicly acknowledged Polymarket's cooperation in the investigation, and the CFTC's parallel action marked the first time the agency has ever charged insider trading involving an event contract, thanks to Polymarket.
This case marks the first time the CFTC has charged insider trading involving event contracts.
U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission
CFTC Charges U.S. Service Member with Insider Trading in Nicolás Maduro-Related Event Contracts
April 23, 2026 · Release No. 9217-26
Read full releasePrediction markets are not a haven for using misappropriated confidential or classified information for personal gain.
U.S. Department of Justice — SDNY
U.S. Soldier Charged With Using Classified Information To Profit From Prediction Market Bets
April 23, 2026
Read full releaseTrading Rules
Insider trading is strictly prohibited
Polymarket maintains and enforces rules under its Terms of Use designed to protect the integrity of every market outcome and keep our markets free from deceptive, manipulative, and unfair trading practices.
It is a violation of Polymarket's terms to:
Trade on stolen confidential information.
You may not trade on any contract if you possess confidential information about the outcome of the underlying event, where using that information would violate a preexisting duty of trust or confidence you owe to another person or entity.
Trade on illegal tips.
You may not trade on confidential information that was passed to you by someone who owed a preexisting duty of trust or confidence to someone else — if you know or have reason to know that they would be prohibited from trading on it themselves.
Trade if you can influence the outcome.
You may not trade on any contract if you hold a position of authority or influence sufficient to affect the outcome of the underlying event. You also may not trade at the direction of someone who holds such a position.
Every Polymarket trade settles transparently on the blockchain — permanently, publicly, and visible to anyone, anywhere.
The entire world surveils our markets, not just us. We partner with Chainalysis, Palantir, and other world-class specialists across Polymarket's platforms to enforce our terms of use and applicable laws.
Sample Scenarios
Permitted & prohibited conduct
To illustrate these concepts, here are hypothetical examples of what is and isn't allowed under Polymarket's rules.
Prohibited
You're an assistant coach on a pro sports team and learn the star player has an undisclosed injury. The team has confidentiality rules that apply to you. Can you trade?
No. The undisclosed injury is confidential information that belongs to your employer. Trading on it before disclosure breaches a duty to the team.
Your friend is an assistant coach who tells you the star player has an undisclosed injury. They say they can't trade but encourage you to. Can you trade?
No. Your friend has a duty to keep the injury confidential, and you know they can't trade on it themselves. You can't trade on a tip they passed to you.
You're a dancer in a halftime show. During rehearsals you learn exactly what songs the headliner will perform. You signed an NDA. Can you trade?
No. Because you owe a duty of confidentiality, you can't trade on your advance knowledge of the playlist.
You're a military service member or contractor with access to confidential information about upcoming operations. Can you trade on markets related to those operations?
No. You owe a duty of confidentiality, so you can't trade on your advance knowledge of the operations.
You're the CEO of a public company. There's a Mentions market on whether you'll use a specific word during an upcoming earnings call. Can you trade?
No. You control the outcome of this market, so you're prohibited from trading.
You work for that CEO. There's a Mentions market on whether the CEO will use a specific word, and they encourage you to buy a "Yes" share. Can you trade?
No. You can't trade at the direction of anyone who holds a position of authority or influence over an outcome.
Permitted
You sit in a park near the stadium and overhear rehearsals — you learn how long the national anthem performance will run. Can you trade?
Yes. As long as you don't owe a duty of confidentiality and obtained the information lawfully, you may trade — even if others don't have access to it.
You're an amateur meteorologist. You built your own forecast model from publicly-available data. Can you trade on it?
Yes. Your model is non-public, but it belongs to you and is based on public data. You don't breach any duty by trading on your own analysis.
You're following an upcoming election closely and want more information than what's publicly available. You hire a polling firm to run a custom poll using your own methodology and questions. Based on the results, you build a large position on the election market. Can you trade?
Yes. The poll was commissioned by you, with your own money and your own methodology. No one else owns that data — you created it. Acting on research you commissioned yourself is permitted.
You're a die-hard fan of a sport. For years, you've tracked your own custom statistics — not just what's on ESPN, but unique metrics you've designed by watching games yourself. You've built a dataset no one else has. Can you trade on markets in that sport?
Yes. The games are public, your observations are your own, and your custom dataset is your work product. You're free to trade on data you collected and analyzed yourself.
Account Conduct
Other prohibited conduct
In addition to insider trading, Polymarket's Terms of Use prohibit all types of fraud and market manipulation, self-dealing, front-running, information misuse, attempted manipulation, and disruptive practices that undermine the orderly operation of our markets.
Full details are set out in the Polymarket Terms of Use.
Enforcement
How we monitor and enforce
All users are subject to Polymarket's Terms of Use. We maintain a multi-layered monitoring system designed to detect potential violations. We watch trading activity in real time and partner with world-class surveillance and technology specialists to ensure the integrity of our markets.
Real-time surveillance
Trading activity is continuously monitored for unusual or potentially questionable behavior.
On-chain transparency
All trades execute on the blockchain. Activity, including all holders in each contract, is publicly viewable.
Disciplinary action
We can ban wallets, take legal action, or refer matters to law enforcement when warranted.
Help Us
Report suspicious activity
If you believe you've witnessed potentially manipulative or prohibited trading activity on Polymarket, we want to hear from you.
See something off?
Reach the integrity team directly by email. Reports are reviewed by our integrity team.
Our Commitment
Fair & transparent markets, by design
Polymarket's full Terms of Use are available here. For general questions about Polymarket's Terms, contact integrity@polymarket.com. This page will be updated periodically — please check back.