Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.) torched Polymarket, a Donald Trump Jr. backed prediction market platform, on Friday for briefly allowing bettors to put their money on the fate of one of the two American pilots shot down over Iran.
“They could be your neighbor, a friend, a family member. And people are betting on whether or not they’ll be saved,” Moulton said on X. “This is DISGUSTING.”
One crew member of the F-15 aircraft was rescued in a risky search operation inside Iran as the conflict in the Middle East intensifies. Another search-and-rescue operation is still ongoing for the second crew member, whose status is currently unknown at the time of writing.
The Fars News Agency in Iran reported a reward being offered for the capture of an “enemy pilot or pilots.”
In the wake of the plane being shot down, bettors on Polymarket — where users can put their money on almost everything news-related from pop culture to politics — were able to place wagers on when the pilot would be rescued.
The market titled “US confirms pilots rescued by…?” has since been taken down following Moulton’s callout, and Polymarket issued an apology.
“We took this market down immediately as it does not meet our integrity standards,” the company wrote. “It should not have been posted, and we are investigating how this slipped through our internal safeguards.”
However, Moulton ripped the platform’s apology in a reply on X, noting that “there are still 219 war bets active on” Polymarket.
“Your integrity standards are severely lacking, @Polymarket. Users are still able to place bets on the lives of our troops ― here’s what your Iran tab looks like right now.”
Moulton also told followers that President Donald Trump’s son “is an investor in this dystopian death market and may have access to intelligence that isn’t public yet.”
In addition to being an investor, Trump Jr. is also named as a strategic advisor to the platform.
Polymarket, along with other prediction-based platforms, has come under fire, with both Republicans and Democrats introducing multiple proposals to crack down on prediction market gambling.
Moulton, who banned his staff from participating in prediction market betting last month, warns that the markets have “become a playground for corrupt insiders who are able to place bets on things like election outcomes, wars, and even the deaths of public figures.”
“This is creating a perverse incentive structure that poses a genuine threat to American society today,” he said.
