FBI raids home and seizes phone of Polymarket founder

The FBI raided the home of the chief executive of the predictive betting site Polymarket and seized his phone late on November 13, Report informs referring to The Guardian.

Shayne Coplan, the 26-year-old CEO of the company, woke early on Wednesday morning in Manhattan to federal agents in his home, the New York Post first reported. Coplan himself was not arrested, the company said.

Polymarket claimed the raid was retaliation for its users betting overwhelmingly that Donald Trump would win the election. The site displayed a large chance of Trump winning before the election, giving Kamala Harris a minimal one, out of line with most mainstream polls.

“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,” Coplan wrote. “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.”

The Department of Justice is investigating Polymarket for allegedly allowing US-based users to bet on the site, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday evening.

Polymarket users can place bets on the outcome of yes-or-no questions that range widely in subject. Fortune reported the week before the election that the site was rife with wash-trading, an illegal type of market manipulation.

“This is obvious political retribution by the outgoing administration against Polymarket for providing a market that correctly called the 2024 presidential election,” Polymarket told media outlets, including the Wall Street Journal.

“Polymarket is a fully transparent prediction market that helps everyday people better understand the events that matter most to them, including elections.”