Apple Bans Employees from Betting on Predictive Markets in Their Employment Contracts

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https://cryptoast.fr/apple-interdit-salaries-parier-marches-predictifs-entreprises-confidentielles/

Betting on the release date of a new iPhone or on Apple's financial results using information obtained internally is now explicitly prohibited by the company. The American group has just added a clause dedicated to predictive markets, such as Polymarket and Kalshi, to its insider trading prevention policy.

This modification appears in a document sent on Tuesday, November 3 to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the American stock market regulator. The new version, dated October 2026, prohibits employees from using confidential information to bet on future events, even when such transactions do not legally fall under insider trading.

The new clause prohibits betting, buying or selling contracts related to future events based on confidential information obtained in the professional context.

On these platforms, users purchase contracts whose value depends on the occurrence of an event, such as the release of a product or the financial results of a company.

The ban does not affect all bets. Employees remain permitted to participate in predictive markets as long as they do not exploit any confidential information.

The rule, however, extends to information about Apple's suppliers, manufacturers, customers and business partners. It is also prohibited to transmit this data to a third party who may use it for betting.

Another important clarification: the restriction applies even when the transactions do not legally constitute insider trading.

It concerns managers, directors, employees, consultants and subcontractors, as well as certain members of their families and the people whose transactions they control.

Violators are exposed to disciplinary sanctions which may include dismissal or even restitution of certain share-based compensation.

The move comes as predictive markets raise growing questions about the use of inside information.

At the end of October, twelve Polymarket accounts attracted attention after correctly predicting the exact ranking of the first five players in the 2026 Ballon d'Or. These bets would have generated nearly $200,000 in winnings. France Football has alerted the police and an investigation is underway.

However, according to a lawyer from the ORWL firm interviewed by Cryptoast, insider trading could not be considered in this case, as the bets do not relate to financial instruments falling under this offense.

Machine-translated from French