US EditionDemocrat rips Polymarket for taking bets on fate of US pilot shot down over Iran
Rep. Seth Moulton criticized the platform after it let users wager on whether U.S. pilots shot down over Iran would be rescued or recovered.
- On Friday, Polymarket removed a betting market allowing users to gamble on when a downed American pilot would be rescued after facing public criticism over the market's ethical implications.
- Rep. Seth Moulton , a Marine combat veteran, flagged the market after a U.S. fighter jet was shot down over Iran on Friday, the first since the Israeli-U.S. war began five weeks ago.
- Moulton raised concerns that investor Donald Trump Jr. could access non-public intelligence affecting rescue odds, and accused Polymarket of allowing users to bet on 'the lives of our troops.'
- Polymarket stated the market 'does not meet our integrity standards' and is investigating how it bypassed internal safeguards, though Moulton remained unsatisfied, calling the company's standards 'severely lacking.'
- The incident reflects broader scrutiny from bipartisan lawmakers; Polymarket and competitors like Kalshi face accusations of skirting gambling laws, and last month users sent threatening messages to an Israeli journalist over a poll.
14 Articles
14 Articles
Polymarket ripped for taking bets on fate of downed F-15 pilot: ‘Disgusting’
Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.) ripped Polymarket on Friday after the prediction market platform allowed users to place bets on the fate of a missing American F-15 fighter pilot shot down over Iran.
The Dark History of Prediction Markets
Prediction markets are courting controversy—and allegations of insider trading—by taking bets on the Iran war. Gambling on human life may be venal, but it isn’t new By Stuart Jeffries When Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s Tehran compound was reduced to rubble by an Israeli strike, at the end of February, a Polymarket user called magamyman netted around $553,000, having bet that the Supreme Leader would no longer be in power by the end of March. Other sp…
'This is disgusting': Polymarket removes betting on downed US pilots after outrage
Online betting site Polymarket came under fire Friday for allowing users to gamble on the date that U.S. pilots downed over Iran would be rescued or recovered — and, faced with criticism, pulled this option from their platform.The bet, which stated "U.S. confirms pilots rescued by...?" and allowed p...
Coverage Details
Bias Distribution
- 75% of the sources lean Left
Factuality
To view factuality data please Upgrade to Premium
