FBI raids apartment of election betting site Polymarket’s CEO and seizes cellphone, source says

The FBI seized a cellphone and other electronic devices of betting site Polymarket’s CEO, Shayne Coplan, in a raid on his New York City apartment early Wednesday, according to a source familiar with the matter. 

The company’s markets wagered correctly and controversially in Donald Trump’s favor in bets on who would win the presidential election, even though opinion polls showed a tight race. 

Coplan, 26, was home when numerous agents entered his apartment Wednesday and he turned over his devices to authorities, the source said, adding that he has not been arrested or charged. The source said it is not clear whether Coplan or Polymarket are targets of an investigation.

“New phone, who dis?” Coplan posted on X after the raid. 

Polymarket, which Coplan founded in 2020, has recently been the subject of intense debate and scrutiny over its creation of election betting markets. It brought in more than $3.6 billion from bets placed on the presidential election, including $1.5 billion on Trump and $1 billion on Vice President Kamala Harris, according to an NBC News analysis.

Speculation has swirled around the identities of major bettors who wagered on Trump and whether or not the odds and the existence of the markets could have had an effect on voters.

Though U.S. election betting is newly legal in some circumstances, Polymarket is not supposed to allow U.S. users after the Commodity Futures Trading Commission halted its operations in 2022, but its user base largely operates through cryptocurrency, which allows for easy anonymity. 

Coplan has continually defended the site as “nonpartisan,” blaming the Biden administration and the recent Democratic loss for the raid. 

“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 said on X. “Polymarket has provided value to 10’s of millions of people this election cycle, while causing harm to nobody.”

A Polymarket spokesperson said in a statement: “This is obvious political retribution by the outgoing administration against Polymarket for providing a market that correctly called the 2024 presidential election. Polymarket is a fully transparent prediction market that helps everyday people better understand the events that matter most to them, including elections. We charge no fees, take no trading positions, and allow observers from around the world to analyze all market data as a public good. We look forward to standing up for ourselves and our community and continuing to help everyday people understand important world events.” 

Nicholas Biase, a spokesperson for the U.S Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, declined to comment.