Letter requests information concerning Wall Street Journal reporting on Polymarket marketing tactics
WASHINGTON—U.S. Senators John Curtis (R-UT) and Adam Schiff (D-CA) sent a letter to Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chairman Michael S. Selig requesting answers following recent reports that prediction market operator Polymarket used deceptive marketing tactics to promote gambling-style products to U.S. audiences. In their letter, the senators argue that the alleged conduct underscores growing concerns that prediction markets are functioning more like gambling than legitimate financial instruments.
“The CFTC has repeatedly asserted regulatory authority over prediction markets and event contracts, including through its enforcement actions and its rules governing event contracts listed on CFTC-registered entities. Yet with content creators routinely portraying prediction markets as ‘free money,’ there is little basis for treating them differently from gambling. These contracts are not in the public interest and should not be treated as derivative products with hedging value. We remain concerned that the Commission is neither enforcing the law appropriately, nor is equipped to serve as a federal gambling regulator,” the senators wrote.
“The public-facing behavior alleged here does not resemble a sober financial market designed for hedging or price discovery. Instead, it reflects clear regulatory arbitrage, where prediction markets can defy state and tribal gaming regulatory frameworks with ease. Traditional gaming operators are subject to state and tribal licensing, age restrictions, responsible-gaming requirements, advertising rules, integrity monitoring, and enforcement regimes designed to protect consumers and preserve lawful oversight. Prediction market operators should not be permitted to avoid those obligations by rebranding gambling products as federally regulated financial contracts. Nor should the CFTC allow companies to invoke the credibility of federal oversight while engaging in conduct that would raise serious concerns in any regulated gaming market,” the senators continued.
Background:
A recent Wall Street Journal investigation reported that Polymarket orchestrated a social media marketing campaign in which paid content creators posted videos depicting simulated trades and exaggerated winnings on websites designed to resemble the company’s platform. According to the report, many of the creators did not disclose that they were being compensated, and the campaign generated millions of views across major social media platforms while promoting prediction market activity to U.S. audiences, despite Polymarket’s primary platform being unavailable to U.S. users. Following the report, Polymarket said it would review its promotional practices.
The letter requests answers by July 10, 2026, including:
- Whether the CFTC is investigating the conduct described in the Wall Street Journal’s reporting;
- What steps the agency has taken since its 2022 enforcement action to prevent Polymarket from targeting U.S. users through offshore platforms or affiliated entities;
- Whether the Commission believes prediction market operators may lawfully use simulated trades or fake websites in promotional content;
- What consumer protection standards currently apply to prediction market advertising, influencer marketing, age verification, and responsible gaming safeguards; and
- Whether the CFTC intends to preserve state and tribal authority over sports betting and casino-style gaming products offered as event contracts.
Curtis and Schiff have strongly advocated for prediction market contracts reform, including introducing legislation to ban sports prediction markets gambling and prohibit federal officials from using sensitive information to bet on prediction market contracts.
The full letter is available here.