Dem lawmakers blast prediction markets as alleged insiders reap $1.2M over Iran attacks: Insane this is legal

Dem lawmakers blasted prediction markets after suspected insiders made more than $1 million from contracts tied to the US-Israeli air strikes on Iran over the weekend – including an alleged $550,000 windfall related to the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.Six freshly-created accounts on Polymarket raked in $1.2 million by betting that the US would strike Iran on Feb.28, according to analytics firm Bubblemaps SA – with some shares purchased just hours before the first explosions were reported in Tehran.It was part of a surge of activity on Polymarket – a largely unregulated prediction market – as $529 million was traded solely on contracts tied to the strikes, according to Bloomberg.Responding to a tweet about the alleged insider trading, Sen.

Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) wrote Saturday: “It’s insane this is legal.People around Trump are profiting off war and death.

I’m introducing legislation ASAP to ban this.”Another Polymarket account called “Magamyman” raised suspicion after it made $553,000 in a single day by placing bets that Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei – who was killed in the attacks Saturday – would soon be out of power, NPR reported.“When this person bought in, the market had this at a 17% probability.They turned roughly $87,000 into over half a million dollars overnight,” Rep.

Mike Levin (D-Calif.) wrote Saturday.“Prediction markets cannot be a vehicle for profiting off advance knowledge of military action.We need answers, transparency, and oversight.”Levin noted that Donald Trump Jr.

sits on Polymarket’s advisory board and that the DOJ and CFTC scrapped active investigations into the prediction market soon after President Trump returned to the Oval Office.Earlier this year, similar trading patterns raised alarms after a Polymarket user made $400,000 betting on the ouster of Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro in January.Polymarket has already added several new contracts related to he...