Apple Bars Employees From Betting on Prediction Markets

Apple's updated insider trading policy, filed with its fiscal 2026 annual report, prohibits employees from using confidential information to trade on prediction markets.

Updated on Nov. 3, 2026 in Public Companies

Apple Bars Employees From Betting on Prediction Markets

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Should employees be banned from betting on prediction markets using insider company information?

Apple updated its insider trading policy to bar employees from using confidential information to wager or trade on prediction markets and similar platforms. The change was filed as part of the company's fiscal 2026 Form 10-K, published on November 3, 2026.

Why it matters

How insider trading rules apply to prediction markets has been a gray area, and the new prohibition applies whether or not the activity would violate existing securities laws. The update covers confidential information about Apple and about other companies, including suppliers, manufacturers, vendors, customers, and business partners.

Apple's prior insider trading policy contained five prohibitions, including bans on trading while aware of material nonpublic information and on tipping. The updated policy adds a sixth restriction covering prediction-market wagers based on confidential information.

The players

Apple

Apple is a publicly traded technology company that files annual reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The details

Apple published its fiscal 2026 Form 10-K on the day after its fiscal Q4 2026 earnings report, with the updated insider trading policy filed as an exhibit. Major prediction markets already explicitly ban the practice in their terms of service, though enforcement remains a challenge.

Until last year: Apple's prior insider trading policy contained five specific prohibitions.
November 3, 2026: Apple published its fiscal 2026 Form 10-K with the updated policy, a day after reporting fiscal Q4 2026 earnings.

Market Landscape

Prediction markets have expanded as venues for wagering on outcomes, creating a gray area where trading on corporate information may not clearly fall under existing insider trading law. Apple's update moves a major public company to close that gap in its own internal rules rather than waiting for regulators to define it.

Employees of Apple and people who hold its stock should note that using confidential company information to trade on prediction markets is now expressly prohibited by company policy. The rule applies to information about any company Apple does business with, not only Apple itself.

The takeaway

Insider trading rules are being extended to new trading venues, and corporate policies are increasingly defining the boundary before regulators do. Readers following public companies should watch annual filings for similar updates.