State Insider-Trading Executive Orders for Prediction Markets (CA, IL, NY, MD — and Counting)
Four governor EOs in roughly 60 days, primary-source verified.
Coalition state count: 4
Last updated: 2026-04-27
Narrative Context — Frame Shift 2026-04-26
Frame: "States stepping in where CFTC capacity is shrinking"
- Politico (2026-04-24) Verbatim pending verificationTally stale as of 2026-04-26
- NYT (2026-04-24) Verbatim pending verification
- CBS Baltimore (2026-04-27) Verbatim pending verification
- Does NOT mean federal preemption is settled — CFTC v NY is open litigation.
- Does NOT mean every state will sign similar EOs — partisan distribution may cap diffusion at blue states.
- Does NOT mean these EOs criminalize ordinary retail PM trading by non-state-employees.
EO Comparison Table
| State | Governor | EO No. | Signed | Scope | Penalty |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
MD Pending verification | Wes Moore | Pending primary | 2026-04-27 | State employees barred from prediction market bets using nonpublic information (verbatim pending primary) | Pending primary |
NY | Kathy Hochul | Executive Order No. 60 | 2026-04-22 1:47 PM | All officers and employees serving at the Governor's pleasure + appointed members of public authorities | Dismissal + sanctions + law-enforcement referral |
IL Pending verification | JB Pritzker | Executive Order 2026-04 | 2026-04-21 | All state employees, officers, appointees, and board members | Procurement-code prohibitions applied to PM activity |
CA Pending verification | Gavin Newsom | Pending primary | 2026-03 | Pending primary — framed as ethics-rule extension | Pending primary |
Per-State Detail
MD — Wes Moore (D)NeutralPending verification
State employees barred from prediction market bets using nonpublic information (verbatim pending primary)
Pending primary
- Pending primary — extract from governor.maryland.gov press release or EO PDF
Primary source pending — row excluded from filterable counts.
NY — Kathy Hochul (D)Adverse
All officers and employees serving at the Governor's pleasure + appointed members of public authorities
Dismissal + sanctions + law-enforcement referral
- Cites Khamenei market refunds ($2.2M Kalshi)
- Cites Maduro Polymarket case ($400K)
- Cites $1B Iran-war timed-bet pattern
- Links to NY AG James Apr 21 Coinbase/Gemini suit
- Links to Oct 2025 Kalshi NY State Gaming Commission C&D
IL — JB Pritzker (D)NeutralPending verification
All state employees, officers, appointees, and board members
Procurement-code prohibitions applied to PM activity
- References existing IL procurement-code prohibitions
- No sunset clause
Primary source pending — row excluded from filterable counts.
CA — Gavin Newsom (D)NeutralPending verification
Pending primary — framed as ethics-rule extension
Pending primary
Primary source pending — row excluded from filterable counts.
CFTC-Preemption Posture
| State | Posture | Reason | Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| NY | Adverse | AG also defendant in CFTC v NY (Apr 25 SDNY) | View |
| IL | Neutral | Procurement-code framing avoids commodity-trading reg | — |
| CA | Neutral | Ethics-rule extension framing | — |
| MD | Neutral | Pending primary — read from EO text directly | — |
Watch List — Next-Likely Signers
Update cadence: refreshed regularly until the fourth state signs.
- NJ — Phil Murphy (D)
Next-likely signer; IL/NY language is now the template
Watch source - MA — Maura Healey (D)
Next-likely signer
Watch source - CT — Ned Lamont (D)
Secondary watch — adjacent state to NY
Watch source - MN — Tim Walz (D)
Secondary watch — vocal on ethics
Watch source - MI — Gretchen Whitmer (D)
Secondary watch — MI AG already in 38-state amicus
Watch source - WA — Jay Inslee (D)
Secondary watch — added Apr 28 per research brief
Watch source