Polymarket staged $900K in fake wins to lure U.S. users

An investigation found that Polymarket paid social-media creators to stage bets and nearly $900,000 in fake winnings on near‑perfect copies of its website to draw U.S. users who are barred from its main exchange.

Reviewers examined 1,105 videos and identified about $1.9 million in displayed wagers that were not real. Roughly 70% of the videos showed a bet; in the 778 that appeared to depict placing a wager, every one used a lookalike site rather than the live exchange. Across 118 videos celebrating wins, creators displayed nearly $900,000 in fabricated payouts. Analysts calculated that those positions, if placed on the real market, would have resulted in more than $166,000 in losses.

The company created near‑identical interfaces, including at least one domain altered to mimic its brand, and directed creators to place trades on those copies. Many promoters were college‑age and filmed themselves placing and marking large wagers. One frequent promoter appeared to show a $100,000 win and posted about 145 apparent wagers totaling nearly $410,000 between January and mid‑May; actual accounts that placed the same bet on the live site that month all lost.

The marketing effort ran through a contractor identified as Virality, which paid creators roughly $2,000 to $3,000 a month and instructed them not to disclose the payments. Contract terms required at least 60% of a creator’s audience to be in the U.S. before payment. Analytics cited by the investigation show the campaign’s content drew an estimated 140 million views across TikTok, YouTube and Instagram. Some creators added a partner tag to their profiles only after outside scrutiny began.

Polymarket has been legally restricted from offering its primary exchange to American users since a 2022 settlement with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. U.S. residents can still access offshore parts of the platform through tools such as virtual private networks. Commodities law prohibits deceptive marketing practices, and regulators have previously taken action against firms that used simulated trades to promote services.

Polymarket confirmed it will review active promotional content and conduct an audit of past campaigns. The company described itself as “committed to maintaining accurate, fair, and transparent markets” and said it would examine promotional material, without providing a timetable for the audit or detailing remedial steps. The platform has also made high‑profile partnership deals, including a multimillion‑dollar agreement with a popular streamer, and has paid influencers in recent months.

The staged content could not be validated on the platform’s public ledger because the clips were produced on edited video and hosted on imitation sites. The campaign ran through the first half of the year and coincided with the company’s push to expand onshore operations and increase trading volumes. Polymarket said it will review past promotions but did not announce a timeline for the audit.