Written by :
Published on :
The Justice Department and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission have concluded an investigation into the gambling prediction market Polymarket with no charges filed.
The FBI raided the home of 26-year-old Polymarket CEO Shayne Coplan back in November of last year and claimed he was not given a reason as to why. Coplan referred to the event as "grand political theater at its worst."
Polymarket became synonymous with the 2024 general election with its betting market taking in millions of dollars and proving more accurate than most polls. It showed President-Elect Donald Trump as the likely winner over Vice President Kamala Harris.
The Justice Department and CFTC claim they were investigating whether Polymarket accepted bets from those in the United States.
A person familiar with the matter provided CNBC with the following statement:
“Polymarket has received declination notices from the U.S. Justice Department and Commodity Futures Trading Commission related to investigations into the company,” said the person, who was granted anonymity to discuss non-public actions.
The company declined to comment.
Polymarket received the formal notices earlier this month, informing the company that the probes, one civil and one criminal, had been completed, and no further action would be taken. Bloomberg News first reported the notices.
Polymarrket had been fined $1.4 million by the CFTC after that agency concluded that the marketplace had failed to register as a facility for even-based binary options, Bloomberg reported.
The company is one of a handful of prediction markets that offer betting on such events as country elections and, more recently, whether US President Donald Trump will release more files pertaining to convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.
Trump's son, Don Jr., serves as an advisor for Polymarket competitor Kalshi.
- Chris Costigan, Gambling911.com
