Cortez Masto Leads Democratic Colleagues in Requesting Answers from X On Apparent Preferential Treatment of Polymarket

Las Vegas, Nev. – U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) led Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), and Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) in a letter to X (formerly Twitter) Chief Compliance Officer C. Rob DeCampos requesting answers on the seemingly preferential treatment Polymarket is receiving from X. The Senators raise concern that, due to Donald Trump Jr.’s role as an adviser and investor for Polymarket, any preferential treatment could help the President and his family enrich themselves. 

The Senators explained: “Typically, X allows users to report an ad for a myriad of reasons; however, when attempting to report Polymarket’s ads through the standard X interface, users are denied the option to do so (Figure A). This is not the case with other types of advertisements, including Kalshi, another prediction markets platform offering sports gaming that is illegal in states across the U.S., including in Nevada (Figure B).”

“This seemingly preferential treatment calls into question whether X is attempting to provide an undue competitive advantage to Polymarket and – by extension – the President and his family,” the Senators continue. “It would not be the first time Donald Trump Jr. has attempted to use his position to enrich himself. Earlier this year, he reportedly pressured a room of Republican state attorneys general to stop trying to regulate prediction markets, which he is heavily invested in.”

Read the full letter here.

Senators Cortez Masto has repeatedly called for more stringent oversight of prediction markets. The Senator has previously called on the CFTC to prohibit prediction markets incentivizing physical injury, death, or war; has raised the alarm about offshore prediction markets allowing people to bet on wildfires; and pushed the CFTC to do more to combat insider trading in prediction markets. Cortez Masto has also urged CFTC Chair Michael Selig to abstain from intervening in pending litigation involving prediction markets. The Senator is a co-sponsor of the Prediction Markets Are Gambling Act, which would prohibit CFTC-registered entities – like Polymarket and Kalshi – from listing any prediction contracts that resemble a sports bet or casino-style game.

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