Overview
- The Wall Street Journal’s review identified at least 1,100 paid social videos that showed staged Polymarket wagers and celebrations, many of which creators later removed after questions from reporters.
- The Journal found that none of the bets shown in those clips were real and that 118 videos depicted about $900,000 in apparent winnings that would actually have lost roughly $166,000.
- Earlier reporting showed large sums were routed through the company chief marketing officer Matthew Modabber’s personal PayPal account, including more than $2.5 million sent to hundreds of recipients and at least $350,000 paid without clear disclosure.
- Polymarket used replica sites and scripted guidance for creators to film promotional clips, and the company disabled spoof domains such as poiymarket.com after the investigation surfaced.
- Federal and state investigators already reviewing Polymarket — including the DOJ, the CFTC, and South Korean authorities — now face added questions about influencer disclosure, recordkeeping and tax treatment that could prompt further enforcement or complicate planned business deals.