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Polymarket Launches Probe After Wall Street Journal Report Alleges Deceptive Marketing
The investigation reviewed 1,105 videos and found 778 showed fake bets on clone sites, with none using the live exchange, the Journal said.
- The Wall Street Journal reported on June 21, 2026, that Polymarket paid social media creators to post misleading videos promoting its prediction market using staged bets on counterfeit websites rather than the actual platform.
- Virality, a marketing firm, managed the creator network and paid them only when at least 60% of their audience was based in the United States, despite Polymarket being officially closed to US customers since a 2022 settlement.
- Across 118 videos, creators celebrated nearly $900,000 in fabricated winnings on bets that would have actually lost more than $166,000, with none of the roughly $1.4m in wagers shown on screen being real.
- Polymarket told the Journal it was 'committed to maintaining accurate, fair, and transparent markets' and would audit promotional content, following earlier reports that its marketing chief allegedly used personal PayPal funds to pay over 800 creators.
- Governments are intensifying regulation of prediction markets, with Minnesota banning them last month and Spain blocking access to Polymarket and Kalshi in May, as officials grapple with oversight this year.
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Paid Influencers Faked Polymarket Jackpots on Copycat Websites To Pull In American Bettors, Investigation Says
Those viral clips of young punters cashing out five-figure wins on Polymarket were, by and large, staged on counterfeit copies of the prediction market, a Wall Street Journal investigation has found. The Wall Street Journal investigation, published on 21 June 2026, reviewed 1,105 videos from 10 promoted creators alongside the briefing materials they were handed. None of the roughly £1.4m ($1.9m) in wagers shown on screen was real, according to t…
·United Kingdom
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Coverage Details
Total News Sources18
Leaning Left4Leaning Right0Center4Last UpdatedBias Distribution50% Left, 50% Center
Bias Distribution
- 50% of the sources lean Left, 50% of the sources are Center
50% Center
L 50%
C 50%
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