Polymarket Accused of Staging Fake Bets for Viral Growth
Recent findings by The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) have cast a shadow over the promotional tactics of prediction platform Polymarket, revealing that a significant portion of the winning bets that fueled its rapid expansion were placed on counterfeit versions of its website.
According to the WSJ report, Polymarket allegedly compensated college-aged content creators to stage approximately $1.9 million in fabricated wagers. An investigative team assembled by the WSJ examined over 1,100 videos posted by these creators and found no evidence of genuine blockchain transactions for any of them, rendering them unverifiable on any digital ledger.
Polymarket’s business model is built on the assertion that all trades are settled in USD Coin (USDC) on the Polygon blockchain, with these transactions being publicly accessible and verifiable. However, the company’s promotional materials appear to contradict this claim.
The platform reportedly paid creators between $2,000 and $3,000 per month to publish videos showcasing seemingly successful bets. In reality, these trades were executed on imitation sites, such as poiymarket.com, which were designed to closely resemble the legitimate Polymarket platform.
An analysis of more than 1,000 betting videos from 10 creators, promoted between December 2025 and mid-May 2026, revealed that none represented actual bets. While marketing firms amplified these videos to boost viewership, creators were instructed not to disclose that they were being paid for the content. The scheme reportedly involved creators manipulating headlines and using outdated footage to suggest they had won bets, even when the winnings were fictitious.
Notably, bets that were celebrated as multi-million dollar wins in promotional clips would have resulted in substantial losses for actual traders. The WSJ reviewed approximately 118 clips where creators claimed to have won around $900,000; however, the same wagers would have led to over $166,000 in losses in the real market.
In one instance, a creator claimed a $100,000 win after U.S. President Donald Trump allegedly uttered the word “McDonald’s” in January. The investigation found that Trump did not make such a public statement that month, and the video used to support the win was from an earlier period. Tragically, at least 50 individuals who had actually placed that bet on Polymarket reportedly lost their stakes.
As scrutiny intensifies over these promotional practices, many of the creators involved have begun removing the videos depicting fake winning bets from their social media accounts. Polymarket has also taken down the dummy website, poiymarket.com.
These allegations surface as Polymarket prepares to re-enter the United States market, having recently received approval from regulators. The platform has indicated its intention to audit its promotional content in light of these revelations.
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