FBI seizes Polymarket CEO’s phone and electronics: report

The Federal Bureau of Investigation seized Polymarket CEO Shayne Coplan's phone and electronics Wednesday, according to a report in the New York Post, which cited an anonymous source. According to a later post by Bloomberg, Coplan is reportedly facing a Department of Justice Probe over alleged U.S. users.

The move comes eight days after the popular betting market, launched in New York City, but currently geo-fenced for would-be users in the U.S., correctly predicted former President Donald Trump would win this year's presidential election. On Nov. 6, Polymarket resolved its U.S. presidential election market after the Associated Press, Fox and NBC all called the race for Trump.

In early 2022, the popular betting platform settled with the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission over offering "event-based binary options." As part of the settlement, Polymarket agreed to pay $1.4 million, wind down the non-compliant markets and block U.S. users to maintain the flexibility to list markets without CFTC approval.

"It’s discouraging that the current administration would seek a last-ditch effort to go after companies they deem to be associated with political opponents. We are deeply committed to being non-partisan, and today is no different, but the incumbents should do some self-reflecting and recognize that taking a more pro-business, pro-startup approach may be what would have changed their fate this election," Coplan wrote on X in a seeming acknowledgement of the DOJ's probe.

Coplan "was woken up at 6:00 a.m. in his Soho home by law U.S. enforcement officers who demanded his phone and electronics," The New York Post’s Taylor Herzlich wrote in the article that cited a source close to the matter. The FBI did not arrest Coplan, according to the source. The New York Post also said that FBI had not responded to a request for comment. The Block reached out to Coplan for a statement, who did not immediately respond.

U.S. presidential election bets on Polymarket reached more than $3 billion in trading volume ahead of the election. Anecdotal reports of U.S. users bypassing the platform using VPNs have long plagued Polymarket, which surged in popularity during the election season. 

The CFTC has long been divided on the issue on allowing election-related betting markets, citing political integrity. U.S.-based betting market Kalshi, for instance, took the agency to court for the right to list contracts that allow Americans to bet on election outcomes. 

"Polymarket has provided value to 10's of millions of people this election cycle, while causing harm to nobody. We're deeply proud of that," Coplan said Wednesday evening. 

'Political retribution'

In the report, a series of anonymous quotes, seemingly from Coplan’s camp, commented on the FBI’s seizure. "It’s 'grand political theater at its worst,'" the source said, according to the report. The New York Post also paraphrased the source as saying “The government is likely trying to accuse Polymarket of market manipulation and rigging its polls in favor of Trump.”

“This is obvious political retribution by the outgoing administration against Polymarket for providing a market that correctly called the 2024 presidential election,” the source added. 

Ahead of the election, wagers favored Trump to win the election with a certainly far greater than the majority of credible polls, which appeared to show the former president in a dead heat with Vice President Kamala Harris.

Earlier on Wednesday Coplan posted “new phone, who dis?” making light of the FBI raid. 

Editor's note (Nov. 13, 2024 — 22:30 UTC): Adds news of alleged DOJ probe and additional context.