Polymarket Faces Lawsuit Over Alleged Deceptive Marketing Targeting College Students

A lawsuit has been filed against Polymarket and key executives for allegedly engaging in deceptive marketing practices. The lawsuit alleges that Polymarket paid content creators to film themselves placing bets on fake versions of the Polymarket site. The lawsuit claims that Polymarket targeted college-aged individuals with manipulative marketing. The lawsuit was filed by the National Association of Consumer Advocates in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. The lawsuit names founder and CEO Shayne Coplan and Chief Marketing Officer Matthew Modabber as defendants.

The lawsuit alleges that Polymarket's marketing firm barred creators from putting “Polymarket” and even “poly” in their account names. The lawsuit alleges that Polymarket paid students up to $2,000 per campaign and offered fraternities cash for every new user they signed up. The lawsuit seeks profits earned through the alleged deceptive practices and restitution to harmed consumers.

Polymarket has responded to the allegations, stating that they are constantly evaluating ways to improve how they engage and earn the trust of their audience. The company also emphasized their market integrity framework, which includes trade monitoring, on-chain transparency, reporting channels, and escalation processes to detect, review, and respond to suspicious activity.