Two U.S. senators from opposite parties called Thursday for a federal investigation into Polymarket after a Wall Street Journal investigation found the prediction-market platform orchestrated a secret social-media campaign using fake winning bets.
Sens. John Curtis (R., Utah) and Adam Schiff (D., Calif.) sent a letter to Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chairman Michael Selig describing the allegations as “deeply troubling” and demanding immediate scrutiny. The letter asked Selig to disclose whether the CFTC is investigating Polymarket and whether the marketing practices violate CFTC rules or federal law.
“The public-facing behavior alleged here does not resemble a sober financial market designed for hedging or price discovery,” the senators wrote. “We remain concerned that the Commission is neither enforcing the law appropriately, nor is equipped to serve as a federal gambling regulator.”
The CFTC is conducting an ongoing investigation into Polymarket, according to a person familiar with the matter. A CFTC spokeswoman declined to confirm the existence of an investigation, and the subject of the inquiry couldn’t be determined. The commission dropped a sweeping probe into Polymarket last year.
A Polymarket spokesman declined to comment on the letter and the investigation.
The Journal’s reporting, published last week, found that Polymarket paid mostly college-age creators to film staged trades on dummy websites that appeared to be Polymarket, and hired overseas low-wage workers to make the videos go viral among U.S. audiences. The Journal reviewed 1,105 videos and found that nearly 10% showed creators using outdated footage or altered news headlines to suggest they won a total of almost $900,000. In reality, had the bets been real, they would have lost more than $166,000.
In response to the Journal’s findings, a Polymarket spokesman previously said the company is conducting an audit of its active promotional content.
Separately, a consumer-protection group Friday sued Polymarket, CEO Shayne Coplan and Chief Marketing Officer Matthew Modabber in Washington, D.C. The suit, filed by the law firm Vaca Daffan on behalf of the National Association of Consumer Advocates, alleges the platform targeted college students with deceptive advertising that obscured the likelihood of losing money.
“Defendants used many layers of manipulation to trick college-aged consumers, who suffered significant harms as a result,” the complaint states, citing the Journal’s reporting. The suit asks for unspecified monetary penalties and an end to the marketing practices.
Polymarket declined to comment on the suit.
Bipartisan skepticism about prediction markets has been intensifying in Congress. Earlier this week, citing Journal reporting that most bettors on prediction markets lose money, more than a dozen Senate Democrats urged a Senate appropriations subcommittee to bar the CFTC from obstructing state and tribal regulation of the platforms.
President Trump has voiced support for the CFTC’s exclusive oversight. He posted on Truth Social that it is “critically important” the agency retains authority over prediction markets so they can thrive, calling politicians who want states to regulate them “SCUM.” Trump’s son Don Jr. is an investor in Polymarket and a paid adviser to rival Kalshi.
Rep. James Comer (R., Ky.), chair of the House Oversight Committee, last month launched an investigation into insider trading on Polymarket and Kalshi. Both platforms told the committee this week about their anti-insider-trading measures, a committee spokesman said, adding that the investigation is ongoing.