In late April, President Trump was asked about Gannon Ken Van Dyke, a U.S. special forces soldier arrested for allegedly placing bets on the Nicolás Maduro raid using insider knowledge. Van Dyke, who “participated in the planning and execution” of the raid, wagered several bets totaling $33,034 on the prediction market platform Polymarket as to the timing of Maduro’s downfall and ended up pocketing $409,000 once the wagers hit, according to the DOJ.
The president, in typical fashion, had a blunt answer.
“Well, you know, the whole world, unfortunately, has become somewhat of a casino,” Trump responded. “And you look at what’s going on all over the world, in Europe and every place, they’re doing these betting things. I was never much in favor of it. I don’t like it conceptually, but it is what it is.”
“No, I think that I’m not happy with any of that stuff,” Trump continued. “But they have all these different sites. They have predictive markets. It’s a crazy world. It’s a much different world than it was.”
He’s right.