The Commodity Futures Trading Commission is reportedly conducting an extensive investigation into Polymarket, one of the world’s largest prediction market platforms, according to sources familiar with the matter.
The Wall Street Journal reports that the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the primary regulatory body overseeing prediction markets, has initiated a probe into the popular betting platform Polymarket. A person with knowledge of the investigation, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the confidential nature of the inquiry, confirmed the regulator’s scrutiny of the company. The specific focus of the investigation has not been disclosed at this time.
The investigation emerges during a period of heightened scrutiny in Washington regarding the rapidly expanding prediction market industry. These platforms enable users to place wagers on a diverse array of topics including United States elections, sporting events, and popular culture happenings. Polymarket, founded by CEO Shayne Coplan, offers betting opportunities on American politics, elections, sports, and international conflicts.
Lawmakers from both major political parties have expressed particular concern about certain markets offered on the platform. Wagers related to the Iran conflict, available through Polymarket’s offshore marketplace, have attracted criticism from members of Congress who worry about the potential for insider trading and other improper activities.
Polymarket declined to provide comment specifically regarding the CFTC investigation. However, Olivia Chalos, the company’s Deputy Chief Legal Officer, issued a statement addressing the broader concerns about the platform’s practices. “We are part of a rapidly growing industry and are constantly evaluating ways to improve how we’re engaging and earning the trust of our audience,” Chalos said. “As part of that commitment, we are conducting a comprehensive audit of active promotional content to ensure it complies with our standards, as well as applicable regulatory and legal disclosure requirements.”
The current investigation represents a notable development given the regulatory environment under CFTC Chair Michael Selig, who has generally supported the prediction market industry since President Donald Trump’s inauguration last year. Under Selig’s leadership, the commission has proposed new regulations favorable to the sector and pursued legal action against entities opposing prediction markets. The Polymarket investigation indicates potential boundaries to the agency’s backing of the industry.
This marks the second time Polymarket has faced CFTC scrutiny. In 2022, the company reached a settlement with the commission, agreeing to pay $1.4 million dollars to resolve allegations that it had been unlawfully operating a financial exchange within the United States. Last year, both the CFTC and the Justice Department closed separate investigations into Polymarket. Those inquiries had previously resulted in a raid on the New York residence of Coplan.
Coplan, who is twenty-eight years old, established Polymarket six years ago. The platform operated with relatively little public attention for several years. The 2024 election cycle dramatically elevated the profile of prediction markets as American users gained expanded ability to place bets on political outcomes. The heightened visibility prompted the industry to significantly expand its lobbying efforts in Washington.
Polymarket has been plagued by cases of people placing bets based on inside information. Breitbart News previously reported on a Google engineer charged after making $1 million using inside information about Google search trends.
In April, a soldier was charged with placing bets related to the future of Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela even as he planned the raid to capture him:
The soldier, later identified as Gannon Ken Van Dyke, allegedly bet approximately $33,034 on the prediction market platform Polymarket toward the outcome of the raid, raking in a massive payday of $409,000. Van Dyke allegedly placed the bets while partaking in the “planning and execution of the U.S. military operation to capture Nicolás Maduro,” per the Justice Department.
“In total, Van Dyke made approximately 13 bets from Dec. 27, 2025, through the evening of Jan. 26,” the DOJ said, adding that he has been criminally charged with “unlawful use of confidential government information for personal gain, theft of nonpublic government information, commodities fraud, wire fraud, and making an unlawful monetary transaction.”
The U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York said that the charges “arise from an alleged scheme in which Van Dyke used sensitive classified information to make wagers on Polymarket.”
Read more at the Wall Street Journal here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of AI, free speech, and online censorship.
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