Polymarket Pulls Bets on Downed F-15 Crew Rescue
Rep. Seth Moulton said the platform still had 219 war bets active after it apologized and removed the rescue market.
- 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.
40 Articles
40 Articles
The scandal over gambling on American pilots exposed a deeper phenomenon: how predictive markets are embedded in US foreign policy, amid a regulatory vacuum, suspicions of insider trading and links to power.
Polymarket apologizes after letting users bet on downed U.S. pilots in Iran: 'It should not have been posted'
Predictions market platform Polymarket removed a market on its site that allowed users to bet on the condition of U.S. pilots following attacks on U.S. fighter jets. Iran forces shot down two U.S. military planes on Friday in two separate attacks, including a U.S. F-15E Strike Eagle. One American service member was rescued on Friday, while another remained missing for part of the weekend. It was the first time U.S. aircraft were downed during th…
Polymarket Apologizes For Taking Bets On American Pilots Downed Over Iran
Less than one month after Kalshi got into a legal whoopsie over whether or not they should pay out bettors who wagered on the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in the early days of the United States’ disastrous war with Iran, the don’t-call-us-a-gambling-site’s biggest competitor Polymarket, another gambling site, is facing a similar problem. An…
Polymarket apologizes, takes down wager on US pilot's rescue
Polymarket apologized and said it took down a market letting users bet on when a U.S. crew member on a plane taken down in Iran would be rescued. That crew member has since been found and is safe, but wounded, President Donald Trump said Sunday. Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass., criticized the company for the wager, which he screenshot and posted on X Friday, before the man was located. "They could be your neighbor, a friend, a family member. And peop…
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