US soldier asks court to dismiss CFTC Polymarket case

Gannon Ken Van Dyke, a U.S. Army Special Forces soldier, asked a federal court to dismiss a civil enforcement case brought by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, arguing that Polymarket event contracts tied to Nicolás Maduro do not qualify as swaps under the Commodity Exchange Act and that the agency exceeded its authority.

The CFTC sued Van Dyke in April, alleging he used confidential military information linked to an alleged capture of Maduro to buy Polymarket contracts on whether Maduro would leave office. The complaint says Van Dyke converted about $33,000 in wagers into more than $400,000 in profits. The civil case is proceeding alongside a criminal prosecution.

In a pre-motion conference letter, Van Dyke’s lawyers described the action as unprecedented and said it raises multiple issues of first impression. The defense’s central argument is that the Polymarket contracts are ‘merely geopolitical wagers’ and therefore fall outside the CEA’s definition of a swap.

The CFTC’s complaint points to statutory language covering agreements that provide for payments tied to the occurrence or nonoccurrence of events with potential financial consequences. The defense counters, ‘Such geopolitical bets are not ‘swaps’ subject to the Commodities Exchange Act, and transactions concerning such event contracts cannot serve as a basis for liability.’

The filing says each of the CFTC’s three claims depends on the contracts qualifying as swaps and asks the court to dismiss the case if the agency’s interpretation is rejected. The defense adds that if the statute is ambiguous, fair notice, due process concerns and the rule of lenity require a narrow reading in Van Dyke’s favor.

Van Dyke’s lawyers also challenge the CFTC’s reliance on Regulation 180.1. The agency alleges he violated that rule by using confidential information in connection with swaps to commit fraud or deceit; the defense argues the regulation exceeds the authority Congress granted the CFTC and therefore cannot support liability here.

The letter requested an expedited pre-motion conference and said the allegations have caused serious harm to Van Dyke’s reputation, career and family.

The case raises the same legal question now before several courts: whether certain event contracts qualify as swaps and fall under the CFTC’s jurisdiction. Courts have reached differing conclusions. The Third Circuit and federal judges in Arizona and Tennessee have found sports-event contracts likely are swaps. Federal judges in Ohio, Nevada and in Maryland in 2025 reached the opposite conclusion.

Van Dyke’s challenge involves geopolitical prediction contracts tied to the political fate of a foreign leader rather than sports outcomes. The court has not set a schedule for the defense motion to dismiss.