By Steve Neavling
The FBI conducted a raid Wednesday morning at the New York City home of Shayne Coplan, founder of the betting site Polymarket, according to three sources familiar with the matter, The New York Times reports.
The search is part of a criminal investigation by the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, one source said, focusing on whether Coplan, 26, operated Polymarket as an unlicensed commodities exchange.
The site gained attention for allowing U.S. users to place bets in violation of a previous government settlement. Polymarket became prominent during the presidential election, offering odds on political outcomes.
Agents seized Coplan’s electronic devices, including his phone, the source added. A law enforcement official confirmed the raid, describing it as “court-authorized law enforcement activity,” but declined to provide further details.
Polymarket previously agreed to a $1.4 million settlement with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission in 2022 for operating without registration. While the company was supposed to restrict U.S. users, a former employee said it was widely known that Americans could bypass the ban using virtual private networks.
During the election campaign, Polymarket’s odds gave former President Donald Trump a significant edge over Vice President Kamala Harris, even as polls predicted a tight race.
A Polymarket spokesperson called the raid “obvious political retribution by the outgoing administration.”
Coplan, in a post on X, claimed the Biden administration was targeting companies they view as aligned with political opponents.
The FBI and U.S. Attorney’s Office declined to comment.
