The political gambling platform Polymarket confirmed that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) conducted a raid at the residence of the company’s CEO Shayne Coplan in downtown New York City on Wednesday morning, seizing his phone and electronic devices.
The Department of Justice is investigating whether Polymarket allowed US users to place bets on the website. The 26-year-old founder of Polymarket, Coplan, was awoken by FBI agents at his home in the Soho neighborhood at 6 am on Wednesday, demanding him to surrender his personal phone and electronic devices.
On the eve of the presidential election, the gap in betting odds on the overseas cryptocurrency election betting site Polymarket between Trump and Harris kept widening. On the day of the vote, Trump’s odds surged to nearly 78%, significantly ahead of Harris, making it a focal point for market bets.
Reports indicate that Polymarket does not allow transactions in the US. When a mysterious French trader placed a large bet on Trump’s victory, it quickly drew market attention and attracted a large number of gamblers to follow suit. This French trader ultimately made profits exceeding $46 million.
Looking at the data, bettors on the platform have been consistently betting on Trump to win for several weeks. However, this trend contrasts sharply with polling results over the past months, which suggest a close race.
Regarding the allegations from the Department of Justice, Polymarket declined to comment, only stating that the FBI raid was “an obvious political retaliation by the outgoing government against Polymarket because the market correctly predicted the outcome of the 2024 presidential election.” The company informed Bloomberg that Coplan was neither arrested nor detained.
The FBI refused to respond to inquiries about the raid.
Both the Department of Justice and the White House have not responded to requests for comments on the FBI raid on Polymarket.
Last week, France’s gambling regulatory authority stated that it is investigating whether Polymarket complies with French laws.