Key Takeaways
- Polymarket CMO Matthew Modabber sent $2.5M+ via personal PayPal to 800+ people in 14 months, per POLITICO.
- At least 20 paid creators posted about Polymarket 490+ times on X with no disclosure, per POLITICO.
- Polymarket spent $112M on a CFTC-licensed exchange as it pushes to re-enter the U.S. market.
$2.5 Million Through a Personal PayPal Account
According to a POLITICO investigation published Friday, Polymarket chief marketing officer Matthew Modabber used a personal PayPal account to send more than $2.5 million to over 800 people between January 2025 and February 2026. At least $350,000 of that went to social media creators who promoted the market on X. The reporting uncovered that about two dozen of them posted roughly 490 times without disclosing that they had been paid.
The recipients spanned the political spectrum and included figures such as Nick Shirley, Riley Gaines and Brian Krassenstein. Roughly a third of the posts presented routine shifts in Polymarket’s betting odds as “BREAKING” or “NEW” developments. The account itself was reportedly registered to an email tied to a salad shop Modabber co-founded, per the reporting.
One creator who spoke to POLITICO anonymously said Polymarket supplied scripts and dictated when posts went live. “They actually told us, ‘This one needs to get out now,’ as if we were cattle,” the person said. Shane Ginsberg, who POLITICO reported received at least $77,000, ran a man-on-the-street video operation called Street Poller whose interviewers sometimes promoted the platform without naming it.
The payments sit awkwardly against Polymarket’s public self-image. After an X user wrote last August that the platform’s brand recognition “cannot be faked,” Modabber reshared the post and added, “CANNOT BE FAKED.” The Federal Trade Commission requires influencers to disclose a material connection to a brand they promote, and a former agency official told POLITICO that paid endorsements demand clear, conspicuous disclosure.
A Polymarket spokesperson described working with influencers as standard business practice but declined to comment on the company’s disclosure policies or Modabber’s use of a personal account when asked for comment by POLITICO for the article. The report does not allege the payments themselves were illegal, and no regulator has announced an action as of publication.
The disclosures land at a delicate moment. Polymarket has vaulted back to the front of a booming prediction-market sector alongside rival Kalshi, which it accused of corporate espionage just a few days ago, even as it courts the regulatory legitimacy that undisclosed paid promotion could complicate. The company previously drew scrutiny for paying U.S. influencers around the 2024 election, when sponsored posts spread under tags like #PMPartner. This time, POLITICO’s records show the money moving quietly through one executive’s personal account, and creators presenting it as news.