Federal law enforcement agents conducted a raid on Wednesday at the downtown New York residence of Polymarket CEO Shayne Coplan, seizing his phone and electronics, as confirmed by the company.
The early-morning raid took place at Coplan’s SoHo apartment just after the presidential election, where Polymarket, an offshore crypto-based election betting site, had set former President Donald Trump’s odds significantly higher than those of Vice President Kamala Harris, contrasting with mainstream opinion polls.
Coplan, the 26-year-old founder of Polymarket, was reportedly woken by FBI agents at 6 a.m., who demanded he hand over his electronic devices.
According to Bloomberg News, the Department of Justice (DOJ) is investigating Polymarket on allegations that it permitted U.S.-based users to place bets on the platform.
Polymarket declined to comment directly on the allegations but released a statement through a spokesperson, calling the FBI raid “obvious political retribution by the outgoing administration against Polymarket for providing a market that correctly called the 2024 presidential election.”
The company clarified to Reuters that Coplan was neither arrested nor taken into custody.
The FBI, the DOJ, and the White House all declined to comment on the raid.
Leading up to the presidential election, Polymarket drew widespread attention by placing high odds on Trump’s victory over Harris, despite national polls showing the race as closely contested.
Polymarket also garnered scrutiny after an anonymous French trader, dubbed the “Polymarket whale,” made substantial bets on Trump to win.
These massive wagers coincided with a sharp rise in Trump’s odds on the platform, resulting in over $46 million in profit for the trader.
Last week, France’s gambling regulator announced it was reviewing whether Polymarket’s operations align with French regulations.