Senators Ask CFTC To Probe Polymarket Over Fake-Bet Marketing Allegations

U.S. Senators John Curtis and Adam Schiff asked CFTC Chairman Michael S. Selig to answer whether the agency is investigating Polymarket over alleged deceptive marketing tied to fake trades, simulated websites and undisclosed paid influencer content.

The June 25 letter follows allegations that Polymarket paid social-media creators to promote betting-style content to U.S. audiences while its offshore platform was not available to U.S. users. Curtis and Schiff gave the CFTC until July 10 to respond.

The senators asked whether a prediction-market operator can lawfully use fake trades or simulated websites in promotional content without clear disclosure. They also asked what consumer-protection standards apply to advertising, age verification, addiction warnings, responsible-gaming tools, affiliate marketing and influencer disclosures.

Curtis and Schiff wrote that creators portraying prediction markets as “free money” undercut the argument that event contracts should be treated as ordinary financial products. They also warned that the CFTC may not be equipped to serve as a federal gambling regulator.

Fake-Win Videos Put Marketing Controls Under Scrutiny

The lawmaker push follows fake-win videos that allegedly used simulated trades, dummy Polymarket-style websites and misleading clips to make creators appear to earn large profits from event contracts.

Those allegations sharpen an existing promotion problem for Polymarket. A separate PayPal payment trail had already raised questions around influencer disclosure after more than $2.5 million in transfers were tied to Polymarket marketing activity.

The new letter puts those marketing questions directly in front of the CFTC. If Polymarket content was paid, simulated or distributed through creator networks without clear disclosure, the concern moves beyond social-media optics and into whether prediction-market advertising has enough rules for products that can look like gambling to retail users.

Polymarket has said it is reviewing promotional practices and auditing active marketing content after the fake-bet allegations. The company has not admitted wrongdoing in the marketing campaign, and the senators’ request does not represent a court finding or CFTC enforcement action.

Prediction-Market Fight Moves Back To Washington

The CFTC already settled an enforcement case with Polymarket in 2022. The agency ordered the company to pay a $1.4 million civil penalty, wind down noncompliant markets and stop violating commodity rules after finding that Polymarket operated an unregistered event-based binary options platform.

Polymarket has since pushed toward a regulated U.S. return, but the marketing allegations arrive while the prediction-market industry is already fighting over whether sports and event contracts belong under federal derivatives law, state gambling law or both.

That fight has also moved through state courts and federal filings. Kentucky’s lawsuit against Kalshi and Polymarket accused prediction-market platforms of operating unlicensed sportsbook-style products, while the CFTC later sued Kentucky as the state-federal clash widened.

Curtis and Schiff now want the CFTC to explain whether it is investigating Polymarket’s alleged marketing conduct, what it has done since the 2022 enforcement action and whether it will preserve state and tribal authority over sports betting and casino-style products offered as event contracts. The response deadline in the Senate letter is July 10.

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