All posts tagged: Polymarket

Nevada court backs regulators against Polymarket amid ongoing enforcement actions

Nevada court backs regulators against Polymarket amid ongoing enforcement actions

Published by skeptic

Nevada gaming regulators have secured another courtroom win in their campaign against prediction-market platforms, with a state judge granting a preliminary injunction against Polymarket US. The Nevada Gaming Control Board announced that Judge Woodbury of the First Judicial District Court approved the agency’s request for a preliminary injunction against QCX LLC, which does business as Polymarket US, on May 29. The board disclosed the ruling in a June 1 enforcement update and said a written order is expected later. Statement from the @NevadaGCB Carson City District Judge Woodbury granted a motion to ban @Polymarket from Nevada.The company, along with @Kalshi and @coinbase, is banned from offering sports, entertainment and election prediction markets in Nevada.@TheNVIndy pic.twitter.com/oIMeHoBFMw — Howard Stutz (@howardstutz) June 2, 2026 The latest decision follows several months of legal battles between Nevada regulators and the prediction-market operator. Earlier this year, the board obtained a temporary restraining order against Polymarket after arguing that the company was offering event-based contracts in Nevada without the licenses required under state gaming law. “We are very pleased with Judge …

Polymarket is trying to block VPNs

Polymarket is trying to block VPNs

Published by skeptic

Online prediction platform, Polymarket, is starting to block IP addresses from VPNs and asking some users to identify themselves, The Information first reported. Due to regional regulations and international sanctions, Polymarket is blocked in 33 countries and several regions. But people in those places could, in theory, use a VPN, or Virtual Private Network, to mask their real location. According to The Information, Polymarket has now made it harder to use VPNs. It’s blocking certain IP addresses associated with VPNs and blocking accounts with suspicious connection patterns. If it doesn’t start enforcing its official policy, Polymarket could risk regulatory action, The Information reported. Mashable Light Speed SEE ALSO: Meta faces employee backlash over tracking tool Polymarket is also apparently asking some customers for their identities to “access faster trading technology,” the report states. This marks a shift from the market’s previous model of anonymous trading, TechRadar reported. The news comes during a broader crackdown on VPNs in the U.S. and elsewhere. Utah now bans using VPNs to visit porn sites, though the law doesn’t go …

Google Employee Charged With Using Confidential Search Data to Make .2 Million on Polymarket

Google Employee Charged With Using Confidential Search Data to Make $1.2 Million on Polymarket

Published by Sam Flores

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. prosecutors slapped insider trading charges against a Google employee this week, alleging the software engineer used confidential company information to pocket more than $1.2 million from prediction market platform Polymarket with bets on search trends. In a complaint unsealed in New York, authorities identified the employee as 36-year-old Michele Spagnuolo — an Italian citizen residing in Switzerland who has worked for Google since 2014. Under the online name “AlphaRaccoon,” they alleged, Spagnuolo used the company’s 2025 “Year in Search” data before it was published to enter Polymarket wagers about the most trending Googled people of last year. This week’s charges “reinforce a decades-old message: corporate insiders cannot use confidential business information to turn a profit in our markets,” Jay Clayton, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, said Wednesday. “Insider trading compromises the integrity of our markets, and the American people want this greed-driven conduct investigated and prosecuted.” Spagnuolo allegedly made new Polymarket trades as Google’s internal search data evolved, from October into December of last year. For …

Iran; Ebola outbreak; Food insecurity; Polymarket : NPR

Iran; Ebola outbreak; Food insecurity; Polymarket : NPR

Published by Sam Flores

Good morning. You’re reading the Up First newsletter. Subscribe here to get it delivered to your inbox, and listen to the Up First podcast for all the news you need to start your day. Today’s top stories U.S. forces shot down Iranian drones near the Strait of Hormuz and struck an area along Iran’s coast overnight, according to a U.S. official who spoke to NPR. In retaliation for the attack on Bandar Abbas, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard says this morning it targeted the American base that launched the attack. U.S. and Iran peace talks continue. President Donald Trump (2nd-L) speaks as (L-R) Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy listen during a Cabinet meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House on May 27, 2026, in Washington, D.C. Trump meets with his Cabinet days after saying a peace deal with Iran was “largely negotiated” amid expectations around the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. Win McNamee/Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Win McNamee/Getty Images 🎧 It is …

Regulators accuse Google engineer of profiting through Polymarket insider trading scheme

Regulators accuse Google engineer of profiting through Polymarket insider trading scheme

Published by skeptic

Federal regulators say a Google software engineer secretly used internal company information to place highly successful bets on Polymarket contracts tied to Google’s annual Year in Search rankings. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) said Wednesday (May 27) that it filed a civil complaint in federal court in Manhattan against Michele Spagnuolo, a Swiss resident who worked at Google during the period covered in the case. According to the agency, Spagnuolo allegedly accessed confidential search ranking information before Google publicly released its 2025 Year in Search list and then used that information to trade prediction-market contracts. .@CFTC Charges Google Employee with Insider Trading in Search Result-Related Event Contracts: https://t.co/BmBrUNhSlK — CFTC (@CFTC) May 28, 2026 The complaint says Spagnuolo “acquired sensitive nonpublic information concerning the results of Google’s official Year in Search list for 2025” through his work at Google. Regulators said he was obligated to keep that information confidential and avoid using it for personal gain. Investigators claim he traded on at least 23 contracts connected to Google search trends between October and December …

Google employee charged with insider trading over Polymarket bets | Crime News

Google employee charged with insider trading over Polymarket bets | Crime News

Published by Sam Flores

Michele Spagnuolo allegedly used insider information to profit from bets on people on Google’s most-searched list. Published On 28 May 202628 May 2026 A Google software engineer has been charged with fraud by US authorities after allegedly using insider information to win more than $1.2m in bets on the prediction market platform Polymarket. Michele Spagnuolo, an Italian citizen residing in Switzerland, is accused of using confidential information to wager on the results of Google’s annual most-searched list, according to a criminal complaint unsealed on Wednesday. Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list US prosecutors accuse Spagnuolo of using an account named “AlphaRaccoon” to make trades on various markets linked to the results of Google’s 2025 Year in Search. The total sum of the bets was approximately $2.75m, according to the complaint, filed in federal court in New York. Among the bets, Spagnuolo successfully predicted that indie pop musician d4vd would top the list for the most-searched for person last year, hours after accessing confidential data at Google, according to prosecutors. Spagnuolo, 36, faces charges …

Google engineer charged with insider trading after making .2M on Polymarket

Google engineer charged with insider trading after making $1.2M on Polymarket

Published by skeptic

The U.S. Justice Department charged Google software engineer Michele Spagnuolo with insider trading, alleging the employee made $1.2 million trading on Polymarket based on confidential business information. Spagnuolo, who used the name “AlphaRaccoon” on Polymarket, has worked at Google for over 12 years, according to information on LinkedIn. “As alleged, Spagnuolo violated the duties he owed to his employer and used Google’s confidential business information to make more than $1.2 million in trading profits on Polymarket,” Jay Clayton, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, said in a press release. “Insider trading compromises the integrity of our markets, and the American people want this greed-driven conduct investigated and prosecuted.” Prediction markets like Polymarket, Kalshi, and others allow users to bet on pretty much anything. Insider trading is not allowed on these platforms because it’s illegal, but some users still commit the offense. The Justice Department recently charged a U.S. Army soldier for allegedly using his insider knowledge of the U.S. military operation to capture Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro to make $400,000 …

DOJ charges Google employee over Polymarket trades : NPR

DOJ charges Google employee over Polymarket trades : NPR

Published by Sam Flores

An aerial view shows Google’s “Googleplex” corporate office in Mountain View, California on May 20, 2026. Josh Edelson/AFP via Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Josh Edelson/AFP via Getty Images A Google software engineer has been charged with using confidential company information to make $1.2 million on Polymarket, in the second known federal criminal case connected to lucrative trades on a prediction market site. Michele Spagnuolo, 36, an Italian citizen who lives in Switzerland, was arrested on Wednesday and charged with commodities fraud, wire fraud, money laundering and other counts for allegedly placing bets on search trends based on internal Google data that tracked user searches. “Unlike the counterparties to his trades, Spagnuolo knew the outcome of these wagers before the trading public did because he had accessed Google’s confidential, commercially valuable internal data,” according to the federal indictment, which authorities unsealed on Wednesday. Prosecutors say Spagnuolo, operating under the username AlphaRaccoon, placed a number of wagers on Google’s most-searched person of 2025. He bet nearly $1 million that Kanye West’s wife, Bianca Censori, would …

Google Security Engineer Arrested in Million-Dollar Polymarket Trading Scheme

Google Security Engineer Arrested in Million-Dollar Polymarket Trading Scheme

Published by skeptic

A Google security engineer has been charged with crimes stemming from allegedly placing trades on Polymarket using confidential internal information from the tech giant. Michele Spagnuolo, a 36-year-old Italian citizen, was arrested this morning in New York, as first reported by ABC News. Spagnuolo is charged with one count each of commodities fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering. He has worked at Google since 2014 and was based out of the company’s Zurich, Switzerland offices. According to the complaint, Spagnuolo placed trades on Polymarket from around October 2025 to December 2025 using internal Google data. In one instance, he netted $1.2 million trading on who Google’s most-searched person of the year would be in 2025, correctly predicting that the winner would be D4vd, a once obscure singer who became the subject of intense public scrutiny after he was suspected of murder. (D4vd was ultimately charged in the case in April.) “Unlike the counterparties to his trades, Spagnuolo knew the outcome of these wagers before the trading public did because he had accessed Google’s confidential, commercially …

Indonesia blocks Polymarket amid expanding global pressure against prediction market platforms

Indonesia blocks Polymarket amid expanding global pressure against prediction market platforms

Published by skeptic

Indonesia has blocked access to Polymarket after officials concluded that the prediction market platform operates as online gambling under national law. The Communication and Digital Affairs Ministry announced the move on Friday and said authorities are stepping up enforcement against digital betting services across the country. Officials argued that platforms allowing users to speculate on uncertain future events fall within Indonesia’s gambling restrictions, even when those services are tied to crypto assets or blockchain technology. The government will not allow any form of online gambling in Indonesia,” Alexander Sabar, the ministry’s director general of digital space supervision, told reporters in Jakarta. Authorities said Polymarket allows users to place financial wagers on elections, economic developments, sports results, and other future outcomes. While prediction markets often present themselves as information or forecasting tools, Indonesian regulators said the practical function still resembles gambling activity. Sabar said Polymarket’s activities involve betting and speculation on uncertain events, putting the platform in violation of national regulations. Officials confirmed the platform’s website has already been blocked inside Indonesia as part of a …