Polymarket, a prediction marketplace that got the outcome of the Presidential election right, is garnering the scrutiny of the Feds due to its accuracy. According to multiple reports, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) raided Polymarket founder and CEO’s apartment, taking Shayne Coplan’s mobile phone and other electronic devices. The New York Post states that Coplan was rousted from his bed at 6 AM this past weekend by law enforcement officials.
Coplan was quoted by the NYPost stating:
It’s “grand political theater at its worst. They could have asked his lawyer for any of these things. Instead, they staged a so-called raid so they can leak it to the media and use it for obvious political reasons.”
Oddly, Polymarket is being persecuted for doing what polling firms were unable to accomplish – provide a realistic outcome of the election.
While almost every polling agency got it wrong, Polymarket and other prediction sites were spot on with the expectation that the odds were very much in favor of a Trump victory.
As for the Fed fishing trip, it is not immediately clear what information they sought to uncover. Perhaps the FBI was seeking to make a case that Polymarket was offering services to US individuals (or not effectively blocking their access) – something the platform is not currently licensed to do (but it is in the works). Even if this is the case, it would seem more of a very minor transgression – no harm, no foul. This has led some to speculate that “Lawfare” remains alive and well even during the last remnants of the Biden administration.
— Polymarket (@Polymarket) November 10, 2024
