

US Prosecutors Close Probe Into Polymarket Betting Website 18
U.S. prosecutors and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) have officially closed their investigations into Polymarket, the decentralized, blockchain-powered prediction market platform where users bet with real cryptocurrency on the outcomes of future events. "The DOJ was investigating Polymarket last year, reportedly for allowing U.S. users to place bets on the site despite Polymarket being required to block U.S. traders," reports CoinDesk.
The FBI raided Polymarket CEO Shayne Coplan's Manhattan apartment last November, seizing his phone and electronic devices. A source close to the matter told The New York Post it was politically motivated due to Polymarket's successful prediction of Trump's election win. It's "grand political theater at its worst," the source said. "They could have asked his lawyer for any of these things. Instead, they staged a so-called raid so they can leak it to the media and use it for obvious political reasons."
The FBI raided Polymarket CEO Shayne Coplan's Manhattan apartment last November, seizing his phone and electronic devices. A source close to the matter told The New York Post it was politically motivated due to Polymarket's successful prediction of Trump's election win. It's "grand political theater at its worst," the source said. "They could have asked his lawyer for any of these things. Instead, they staged a so-called raid so they can leak it to the media and use it for obvious political reasons."
Successfully predicting Trump's election win (Score:2)
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Uh, that was in 2024.
Investigation closed in 2025 via the new administration.
Victim complex to the moon! (Score:5, Insightful)
CEO Shayne Coplan's Manhattan apartment last November, seizing his phone and electronic devices. A source close to the matter told The New York Post it was politically motivated due to Polymarket's successful prediction of Trump's election win.
Do people actually believe this bullshit? Politically motivated because you said trump would win?
"The DOJ was investigating Polymarket last year, reportedly for allowing U.S. users to place bets on the site despite Polymarket being required to block U.S. traders," reports CoinDesk.
That could be true if you also didn't break the law by taking bets on it at the same time. As usual with trump, crime is a-ok as long as you bribe the man.
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Also not even the guy himself but the betting market bets. Conservatives really think everybody else is as paper thin skinned as they are. "Lawfare! Everything against me is lawfare!" And we let them get away with this horseshit, it's like a magical power.
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As usual with trump, crime is a-ok as long as you bribe the man.
You don't even need to go that far. If you have ethics, you're fired [go.com].
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Hey, if profit is your only criterion... (Score:2)
Then you should invest in gambling websites. You can't lose if you're on the side of the house.
Oh, wait. Now I'm remember how a certain Yuge Orange Buffoon (YOB) managed a couple of casinos into the dirt...
But seriously, folks, the applied psychologists have this one in the bag. As in the gamblers' testicles in the bag. Just finished a somewhat relevant book called The Choice Factory by Richard Shotton. He's mostly focusing on selling garbage, and he carefully steered clear of gambling, but he still cross
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Casinos and other gambling outfits go out of business all the time. Just ask Trump!
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"managed a couple of casinos into the dirt"
You build something with the promise from the city for Urban Renewal, then the city doesn't do the urban renewal, and casino patrons and hotel guests have to drive thru some pretty scary streets, mostly expecting to be carjacked at any moment, and are reluctant to be return customers because of that. Now how is that "managing the casino into the dirt"?
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NAK
CoinDesk verified2 U.S.-based traders placed bets (Score:4, Informative)
"More broadly, the U.S. regulatory regime has changed its approach to digital assets since Donald Trump became president for a second term. The Securities and Exchange Commission has dropped over a dozen investigations and active court cases against crypto firms, while banking regulators have eased their scrutiny of financial services firms that want to engage in crypto activities."
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It's not fraud, everyone does it, it's just business. -paraphrasing some Orange dude, probably.
Disaster futures are now a thing :o (Score:2)
Sound a lot like the Policy Analysis Market [wikipedia.org] (PAM), proposed by DARPA in 2003. This was subsequently withdrawn because of public and political backlash. There's also the danger of people manufacturing disasters after putting on a large bet.