Betting site pushes election betting, with US influencers ignoring federal ban

Polymarket, a decentralized betting platform, recently assembled a selection of social media influencers based in the United States to promote the platform's election betting services, despite federal regulators banning US citizens from participating in betting on the site.

Bloomberg News reported that the platform's senior director of growth, Armand Saramout, sent out invitations to influencers looking for sponsorships in September.

Recent posts from several influencers on Instagram reveal Polymarket-sponsored content tagged with hashtags such as #PMPartner and #PolymarketPartner. Influencers like Eric Pan, known for his personal financial advice, have also reportedly signed sponsorship deals with the site.

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Polymarket defended the statement: “99% of visitors consume news and never make a trade.”

Polymarket spokesperson told Bloomberg News: “We have reached out to influencers on both sides of the aisle to promote our data and drive traffic and attention to polymarket.com, where 99% of visitors consume news and never one However, the spokesperson denied any intention to increase trading activity among US-based users through this sponsorship.

Just last month, Polymarket opened an investigation into several large bets totaling $30 million made on former President Donald Trump's 2024 election victory. These bets were placed on four separate accounts, which the company later confirmed belonged to a single person. After bringing in outside experts to review the bets, Polymarket said it found no evidence of market manipulation attempts.

As of midday on Election Day, Polymarket data suggested Trump had a 60.1% chance of victory, while his Democratic opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, had a 39.9% chance of victory.

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The platform allows betting on various outcomes – sports, entertainment and political events – using a digital dollar pegged to a stablecoin. They then buy and sell stocks that reflect the probabilities of certain events, such as the results of swing states or pollsters' predictions of who will win the popular vote.

Although U.S. regulators have attempted to restrict or shut down Polymarket's operations in the U.S. due to its offshore location, some Americans are using virtual private networks (VPNs) to circumvent restrictions.