Share 
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission authorized at least three previously undisclosed investigations tied to Polymarket contracts between May and July 2026, according to FOIA records obtained by WIRED and reported by CCN. The probes relate to markets involving Joe Biden’s pardons, Iran-related events, and Google’s 2025 Year in Search rankings.
The records do not identify the specific traders or transactions under review, and the existence of the investigations does not establish wrongdoing. Still, the report adds to the regulatory scrutiny around prediction markets and how they police trading based on confidential or nonpublic information.
Three separate Polymarket matters were reportedly approved
According to the report, the CFTC quietly authorized three investigations over a roughly three-month period. One concerns contracts linked to former President Joe Biden’s pardons. A second involves Iran-related events. A third centers on Google’s 2025 Year in Search rankings.
What remains unclear is who was being investigated and what specific trading activity triggered the reviews. The FOIA records cited in the report do not disclose those details, and no enforcement action or charges were identified in the source material.
Why the probes matter for prediction markets
For readers who follow event-based markets, the main takeaway is not that misconduct has been proven, but that U.S. regulators are closely examining whether these platforms can prevent trading on information the broader market does not have.
That question matters beyond a single operator. Prediction markets sit in a gambling-adjacent space that has drawn increasing attention from regulators, especially when contracts are tied to politics, geopolitics, or other real-world events that may be influenced by nonpublic developments.
For now, the immediate watch item is whether any of the reported CFTC probes lead to formal allegations, charges, or other public enforcement steps. Based on the source report, those outcomes had not been disclosed as of publication.
—
Source: As reported by Dr. Guneet Kaur.
