Polymarket CEO Says He’s a Political Target After FBI Raids Home, Takes His Phone

Yesterday the FBI raided the NYC home of Polymarket CEO Shayne Coplan and took his phone and electronics. The attack happened around 06:00 and Coplan was at home when the agents entered his house. Later in the day, the Department of Justice announced that it is investigating the prediction market for allowing US citizens to trade on the platform, which is illegal.

In Polymarket, users can bet on events with binary outcomes. As people bet on something, the probability of the outcome changes. Polymarket gained attention during the presidential election by predicting that Trump would win. Its CEO Shayne Coplan called the site the future of news. In the end, Polymarket was right about the election if not about being the future of news.

The US has done a lot to normalize online gambling over the past decade, but these types of speculative betting markets are illegal here. A US citizen can log into the site and watch the markets move but are not allowed to bet. It ran into trouble with this before and settled the dispute with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission in 2022. It paid a $1.4 million fine.

Polymarket and Coplan say this has nothing to do with Americans using the site. “This is a clear political revenge by the outgoing administration against Polymarket for providing a market that correctly called the 2024 presidential election,” Polymarket told Axios after the attack. “Polymarket is a completely transparent prediction market that helps everyday people better understand the events that matter most to them, including elections.”

Later that day, Coplan wrote about the issue in X again, again accusing Biden of being upset about the election results. “It is disappointing that the current administration will want a last ditch effort to go after companies that they feel are politically related. We are deeply committed to being non-partisan, and today is no different, but those in office should examine themselves and realize that taking a pro-business, pro-business approach may be what could change their fate in this election,” said Coplan in the X post.

Public statements from Polymarket and its CEO show their opinion that the gambling website is more than that. Coplan sees it as a vehicle for stories, a way to make sense of a chaotic world.

Notably, the FBI did not raid the home of Tarek Mansour—the CEO of the Kalshi prediction market. Mansour lives in Massachusetts and his area also predicted Trump’s victory. He also made several public appearances last election month talking about Kalshi and the prediction markets. His home has never been raided by the FBI.

“Polymarket served 10 million people this election cycle, while not harming anyone. We are very proud of that,” said Coplan to X. “I am also proud to say that the future of America, and especially American businessmen, has never been brighter. When we face difficulties, we build 🦅”

Elon Musk, a man who bought his way into government, responded to the post with “Absolutely.”

Coplan sent “🦅” back.