Israeli authorities have arrested a second Air Force officer on charges of trading on Polymarket war markets. The first officer was detained in February alongside civilian Omar Ziv. In that case, the officer passed classified information about planned operations to Ziv, who placed bets on related markets.
The second officer is charged only with breach of trust — he traded himself and did not share information with third parties. During the first officer's court hearing, he stated that 'everyone in the military' trades on prediction markets. The judge denied his release, noting that widespread violations do not remove individual responsibility. That testimony triggered the investigation that led to the second arrest.
Ziv's account generated over $160,000 in profit on bets tied to Israeli military actions. Six other suspicious accounts earned more than $1.2 million on bets related to a February strike. The first officer was already in custody at the time of that strike.
Polymarket continues to offer war markets on its international platform. Israel is not among the 39 jurisdictions with restricted access. The market on the number of countries Israel attacks has seen over $7 million in volume. A market on the duration of a ceasefire between Israel and Iran has traded another $26 million. In the US, trading on war events is prohibited, and the DEATH BETS Act was introduced in Congress this spring. Pressure on regulator CFTC currently focuses on wildfire markets, though those have not been offered since January of last year. Israeli authorities have taken no action against the platform itself. A separate episode involved death threats against an Israeli journalist accused by users of manipulating news for betting purposes.
