A handful of other Polymarket users also made tens of thousands of dollars from wagers on Maduro's capture. Prediction markets have surged in popularity in the US in recent years, with companies like Polymarket and Kalshi letting users bet on everything from sports to politics. The industry's leading companies attracted hundreds of millions of dollars in wagers on the outcome of the 2024 US presidential election. Insider trading is illegal in the stock market, but there are fewer regulations in prediction markets. A spokesperson for Kalshi said the prediction site "explicitly prohibits insider trading of any form, including government employees trading on prediction markets related to government activity".

Source: The Star January 06, 2026 17:48 UTC