Polymarket Accused of Staging Fake Bets Via Paid Influencers and Dummy Sites
The Wall Street Journal reports Polymarket paid at least 10 social media creators to post videos showing fake winning bets and used dummy, lookalike websites to simulate wagers, with instructions to hide sponsorship. A review of 1,105 videos found about 70% depicted bets that were not real, including nearly $900,000 in fabricated winnings across 118 clips. The practice, alongside broader concerns about insider trading, fraud, and wash trading on Polymarket, persists as the platform faces regulatory scrutiny. Some creators received monthly pay of about $2,000–$3,000 and were told not to disclose the arrangement, and instances of apparent internal test environments and outdated footage were noted.
