Polymarket to Step Up Monitoring of Bets on U.S. Midterm Elections

^{Voters at a polling station in the U.S. / © Shutterstock}

Polymarket says it is ready to detect suspicious activity during the upcoming U.S. midterm elections, the company’s global head of investigations and intelligence, Shana Bautista, told Reuters.

According to Bautista, Polymarket already has systems in place to identify unusual activity and plans to use them during the midterm elections as well.

To detect and prevent potential misconduct, Polymarket uses:

• machine learning;
• blockchain data analysis (blockchain is a data-storage technology in which transaction records are stored in a shared digital ledger and can be verified by other participants in the network);
• trade surveillance;
• open-source research;
• third-party tools.

Polymarket also plans to provide more information on its website about how it identifies suspicious transactions and works with law enforcement agencies.

Bautista stressed that the monitoring system itself is not new. The company now intends to disclose more details about how it operates.

The prediction market platform has already referred more than 100 cases to law enforcement. According to Bautista, these include a wallet used by a U.S. soldier who prosecutors say used classified information to bet on the capture of Nicolás Maduro, as well as multiple possible insider bets linked to U.S. military actions in Iran.

U.S. lawmakers have raised concerns about the growing use of non-public information on prediction markets. In the case of election-related contracts, they have also pointed to potential risks to the electoral process, including damage to public confidence in candidates, election officials and election results.

The U.S. midterm elections will take place on November 3, 2026. All 435 seats in the House of Representatives and roughly one-third of the Senate will be up for election.

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