Polymarket paid creators to stage fake betting videos

A prediction market platform has been paying social media creators to produce deceptive videos showing fabricated winning bets, according to an investigation published this week. The report alleges that Polymarket orchestrated a marketing campaign using simulated websites and staged outcomes to attract users, particularly in the United States, where its primary platform is banned.

The investigation, based on a review of over 1,100 videos, instructional materials, and interviews with creators, found that approximately 50 content creators were compensated to film themselves placing bets on dummy websites designed to look like Polymarket. The videos, posted between December 2025 and mid-May 2026, collectively depicted roughly $1.9 million in bets that were never actually placed. In 118 videos, creators celebrated nearly $900,000 in fabricated winnings; an analysis concluded those same bets would have resulted in over $166,000 in losses if placed on the real platform.

One example cited involved a creator posting a video in January 2026 claiming a $100,000 win from a bet that former President Donald Trump would say "McDonalds" that month. The footage used was reportedly two months...