GoKawiilPolymarket Linked to Over $10 Million in Stolen-Card Betting Fraud
The Wall Street Journal reports that a payment processor working with Polymarket flagged widespread use of stolen debit cards to place bets on the platform starting as early as February. Fraudsters allegedly used stolen financial data to wager and then withdrew winnings through other payment channels, with the processor rejecting more than 80 percent of transactions as fraudulent, far above the roughly 1 percent industry norm.
GoKawiil's interpretation of the reporting above, not reported fact.
The scale of rejected transactions suggests weak fraud controls at a platform handling large sums of real money, which could expose Polymarket to regulatory scrutiny as prediction markets grow more mainstream. The WSJ's account that CEO Shayne Coplan told compliance staff to keep processing transactions despite concerns implies leadership may have prioritized revenue over risk management, though this framing comes from the report's sourcing rather than a confirmed company statement. Experts like former CFTC attorney Joe Konizeski argue such lapses would be unthinkable in regulated financial markets, raising questions about oversight gaps in the prediction-market industry.
- A Polymarket-linked payment processor rejected over 80% of transactions as fraudulent, far above the roughly 1% industry norm.
- Criminals allegedly used stolen debit card data to place bets and withdraw winnings, attempting to launder at least $10 million.
- Former CFTC attorney Joe Konizeski says such lax fund handling would not be tolerated in regulated financial markets.
Source: futurism.com — Joe Wilkins, 2026-09-26
Published there as: “Polymarket Is Being Used for Massive Money Laundering”
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