Military reservist leveraged connections in the armed forces for betting on Polymarket., 2026/02/12 15:43:52

An Israeli army reservist and a civilian have been accused of utilizing confidential military information for betting on the blockchain platform Polymarket.

The reservist allegedly leveraged his connections within the armed forces to gain access to data regarding IDF military operations, according to the Israeli Ministry of Defense and police. He reportedly passed this information to his civilian associate, who then placed bets on military events using Polymarket. Both individuals face charges of unlawful use of classified information and bribery. 

The investigation commenced approximately a month ago when the Israeli internal security and intelligence service identified “suspiciously accurate predictions” on the blockchain platform, as stated by the prosecution. A user under the alias ricosuave666 made several bets in June 2025, forecasting an Israeli military operation in Iran and other IDF actions. The initial wager was $10,000 for each prediction, and the unidentified individual managed to earn a total of $150,000. 

Polymarket is a platform where users can place bets on real-world events, ranging from election outcomes to the results of sports competitions. Participants purchase tokens representing potential outcomes; the more tokens sold, the greater the votes for a particular outcome. The blockchain platform was established in 2020. 

Polymarket is officially banned in 33 countries, including Russia, Belarus, Singapore, Italy, Thailand, Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Australia, and Belgium. In January, the platform was blocked in Ukraine and Portugal, coinciding with the presidential elections in Portugal and a surge in user activity.