Polymarket is facing fresh scrutiny after a Wall Street Journal investigation alleged that the prediction-market platform paid creators to promote staged wins, simulated trades, and Polymarket-style test websites while its main platform remained off-limits to U.S. users.
The investigation said Polymarket worked with paid social-media creators and offshore “clippers” to push viral videos across TikTok, YouTube and Instagram. Some videos allegedly showed creators appearing to win thousands of dollars on Polymarket even when the trades were simulated, edited, outdated, or did not match real betting outcomes on the live platform.
WSJ said Polymarket made dummy websites that closely mirrored its real exchange and paid creators to use those fake environments for promotional clips. Creators allegedly altered headlines, reused older footage, and produced videos that made losing or simulated bets look like wins.
The investigation also said Polymarket used marketing contractor Virality to manage a clipping network and that campaign materials aimed the promotion at U.S. audiences. The campaign generated more than 140 million views across TikTok, YouTube and Instagram, with some creators earning about $2,000 to $3,000 a month.
U.S. Access Question Sits Behind The Campaign
The U.S. angle is central because Polymarket’s main crypto platform has faced American access restrictions since its 2022 enforcement settlement with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The CFTC ordered Polymarket to pay a $1.4 million civil penalty, wind down noncompliant markets, and cease violating commodity rules after finding that the company offered off-exchange event-based binary options.
Polymarket has since pursued a regulated U.S. return. In 2025, the company acquired QCEX for $112 million, saying the deal would support a fully regulated, U.S.-compliant framework. CFTC records list QCX LLC d/b/a Polymarket US as a designated contract market, giving the company a clearer domestic regulatory path than the offshore-facing platform that made Polymarket famous.
That path is arriving as prediction markets face broader pressure from lawmakers, state regulators, and gambling-industry groups. Kentucky recently sued Kalshi and Polymarket over alleged illegal sportsbook activity, while gaming groups have urged the Senate to block sports prediction markets through the CLARITY Act.
Creator Disclosure And Adin Ross Claims Add Heat
The Journal investigation also said Polymarket promoted videos from streamer Adin Ross, who allegedly had a multimillion-dollar deal with the company. WSJ said Polymarket and Virality targeted dozens of Ross clips for promotion, including videos that discussed potential trades and insider-information angles.
The promotional-disclosure question could become one of the most sensitive parts of the story. Polymarket had already faced influencer-marketing scrutiny after a $2.5 million PayPal payment trail raised questions over creator promotion and disclosure, with at least $350,000 reportedly going to content creators who later posted about the platform without clear paid-promotion labels.
The new investigation said some creators initially did not identify themselves as paid Polymarket partners, and that creator bios changed after WSJ began asking about the campaign. Virality materials allegedly directed clippers to make posts look personal and organic rather than like formal ads.
Polymarket’s response to the investigation was that it is committed to accurate, fair and transparent markets and that it plans a comprehensive audit of active promotional content. The company did not concede the central allegations in the investigation.
The controversy lands during a breakout period for event contracts. Prediction-market volumes recently hit a record $10.8 billion weekly level as sports, politics, crypto, and pop-culture contracts pulled in a larger trading audience. The WSJ allegations now put Polymarket’s user-acquisition strategy under a sharper lens, with the company’s U.S. relaunch efforts moving alongside unresolved questions over paid promotion, disclosure, and access controls.
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