Stein order bans NC workers from insider betting on prediction markets

Gov. Josh Stein signed an executive order Wednesday banning North Carolina state employees from using insider knowledge to bet on prediction markets. 

Platforms like Polymarket and Kalshi allow users to place wagers on anything from the outcome of a sports game to events that involve government decisions, like military action and vaccine approvals. 

Stein said the executive order aims to instill trust in the public that decisions are made with their interests in mind. 

“When people use non-public information they have gained at work for unfair gain, we run into trouble,” he said. “People need to have faith that the public servants are working on their behalf, not leveraging their knowledge unfairly to win a bet and make money.” 

The order expands upon the North Carolina State Ethics Act, Stein said, which prohibits public servants from insider trading. 

“To be clear, I do not have any reason to believe that any state employees are currently making these unethical bets,” he said. “I don’t expect the executive order will impact their daily lives, but what it will do is increase the public’s confidence that we work for them.”

Federal prosecutors said last month a U.S. Army soldier stationed at Fort Bragg made $400,000 using classified information to bet on the timing of the ouster of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. 

Stein said that event, along with national trends and conversations he’s had with his staff, inspired the executive order.

“It’s corrupting people’s faith in the government,” he said. 

State House Democrats filed a bill earlier this month to ban all betting on predictive markets in North Carolina, but the measure has not yet had a hearing. 

Establishing military affairs coordinators

The governor also signed an executive order Wednesday to designate a military affairs coordinator in each cabinet agency. This position, Stein said, would bolster military communities across the state.

North Carolina is home to the fourth-largest military presence in the country, as well as the most populated army base in the world, Fort Bragg.

There are more than 90,000 active-duty military personnel, over 40,000 National Guard and Reserve service members, about 600,000 military veterans and nearly 150,000 military family members in the state, according to Stein’s office. 

“As long as I am governor, my administration will take a whole-of-government approach to supporting service members, veterans and their families,” Stein said. 

Military affairs coordinators are responsible for being knowledgeable about how their agency’s work could impact service members and their families, and for coordinating with the Dept. of Military and Veterans Affairs and other agencies about shared efforts to support service members. 

Jocelyn Mitnaul Mallette, state Secretary of Military and Veterans Affairs, said the military-friendly designation for North Carolina doesn’t come solely from population and the number of installations.

“It takes intentional coordination and collaboration at all levels and within all sectors to ensure that we are supporting our service members and their families, the installations they call home, and the surrounding communities who ensure their readiness and care, because they deserve it, and because our national security depends on it,” she said. 

Raises for law enforcement officers

The governor recognized May as Law Enforcement Appreciation Month, honoring the officers who keep their communities safe. 

The N.C. Dept. of Adult Corrections is testing a pilot program in three state prisons reducing the time to hire by about 10 days, according to Corrections Secretary Leslie Dismukes.

The current process can take up to 45 days, leading people to withdraw because they can’t wait that long for a paycheck, Stein said. 

Budget stalemate contributes to ‘dire’ conditions in NC prisons, agency leader says

“We are seeing constant results,” Dismukes said. “We’re bringing candidates into the pipeline who want stability, structure and solid benefits who also feel called to serve.”

North Carolina ranks 49th in the country for correctional officer pay. 

Stein’s proposed budget includes a 15% raise for law enforcement officers in addition to the step pay program, which determines compensation based on tenure and performance. 

“Significant raises for all of our line staff are critical to our ability to recruit and retain our tenured staff and to protect North Carolina’s military,” Dismukes said.