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Polymarket Paid Creators to Stage Fake Bets and Wins

Investigators say dummy websites plus a paid amplification network targeted U.S. users, prompting takedowns, a company audit, platform restrictions, legal scrutiny.

Overview

  • The Wall Street Journal's June 21 report reviewed 1,105 videos and found that creators showed roughly $1.9 million in wagers that investigators say were not real.
  • Creators filmed trades and winning reactions on near-identical fake sites, including a misspelled domain 'poiymarket.com', which Polymarket has since taken down.
  • The marketing campaign paid creators about $2,000 to $3,000 a month and used a contractor-managed network of 'clippers' to repost content and generate an estimated 140 million views.
  • Polymarket announced a comprehensive audit of promotional content after platforms began restricting accounts and many creators added disclosure notes following media inquiries.
  • The revelations deepen legal and regulatory pressure on Polymarket, joining recent state lawsuits and past CFTC enforcement while raising potential FTC, tax and recordkeeping issues.