Polymarket Ousts CEO’s Longtime Friend After Fake Winnings Controversy

^{Matthew Modabber and Shayne Coplan}

Prediction market platform Polymarket has fired its marketing chief, Matthew Modabber, a longtime friend of the company’s founder and CEO, Shayne Coplan. According to the New York Post, the decision followed a series of scandals that had raised concerns among investors.

Modabber joined Polymarket in January 2024 and was responsible for promoting the platform. One of the main complaints against him involved a marketing campaign featuring staged videos in which users appeared to win large sums of money.

In June, The Wall Street Journal revealed that fake versions of the Polymarket website had been used to produce these videos.

Influencers used the fake sites to display fictitious trades, with some showing profits on bets that would actually have resulted in losses.

The campaign attracted the attention of the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). According to media reports, the investigation is ongoing, and no violations have been established so far.

Another concern involved undisclosed paid promotions by influencers. Modabber allegedly paid for Polymarket promotions through a personal PayPal account linked to another business he owned. Influencers often failed to disclose to their followers that they had been paid to promote the platform.

Modabber’s friendship with Coplan complicated his dismissal. The two have known each other since school, and the Polymarket founder initially opposed firing his friend. According to sources, he even threatened to fire lawyers who were pushing for Modabber’s removal.

Investors and board members believed the scandals were damaging Polymarket’s reputation and jeopardising preparations for a potential initial public offering (IPO). Coplan eventually agreed to Modabber’s dismissal.

Polymarket declined to comment, while Modabber did not respond to journalists’ requests for comment.