Prediction markets are rife with insider betting

Feb 19th 2026|3 min read

Last summer one “ricosuave666” won more than $150,000 on Polymarket, a betting platform. Their true identity was not clear, but the source of the winnings was: ricosuave666 had bet, with suspicious accuracy, on the precise timing of Israel’s attacks on Iran. Now Israel’s government might have pierced the veil of anonymity. On February 12th it said it had arrested two men, one of whom had recently been an army reservist, for placing bets using classified information. They have been charged with bribery, obstruction of justice and “serious security offences”.