Polymarket Fires CMO Matthew Modabber After Marketing Probe

By Sophie Lindqvist

Polymarket, a crypto-native prediction market, has fired Chief Marketing Officer Matthew Modabber after reducing his remit amid an internal investigation into an influencer campaign.

A June 2026 analysis found that roughly 1,105 promotional videos from the campaign depicted $1.9 million in simulated wagers. A New York Post report published October 22, citing sources, said the dismissal removed a longtime confidant of founder and CEO Shayne Coplan.

Modabber joined Polymarket in January 2024 as an early executive and grew the marketing organization to more than 50 people. The company restructured the department in August and cut his responsibilities before dismissing him. The board backed the move. Coplan initially resisted it, then accepted the decision, and the two sides were finalizing a separation agreement.

Polymarket declined to comment, and Modabber did not answer requests for comment. The company has not published the investigation’s findings. Available reporting also does not establish that Modabber personally directed every video or that every payment tied to his account was connected to the alleged staged trading.

What does the dismissal change for Polymarket?

Polymarket has removed the executive who built its more-than-50-person marketing operation. The change in leadership does not resolve the advertising allegations, establish that Modabber directed every promotion or show that the company has corrected its disclosure and third-party controls.

For marketing leaders entering regulated prediction markets, the operating test is direct: disclose sponsorships, use authentic trading demonstrations and control third-party marketing. Those controls address what simulated trades can misstate: platform activity, potential returns and the risk of financial loss.

The campaign and the disputed practices

Polymarket lets users trade contracts on the outcome of elections, sports and other real-world events, with trading conducted in USDC on the Polygon blockchain. Paid creators published roughly 1,105 videos from December 2025 through May 2026, according to the June 2026 investigation. Hundreds used replica websites designed to resemble Polymarket’s platform.

The videos represented about $1.9 million in simulated wagers. Of them, 118 clips showed close to $900,000 in purported winnings. If the corresponding wagers had been placed on the live platform, the analysis found, they would have lost more than $166,000.

The campaign generated more than 140 million views across TikTok, Instagram and YouTube. Some creators did not disclose their financial ties, while some clips used outdated footage or altered headlines to present losing positions as profitable. The later lawsuit alleges deceptive advertising, undisclosed paid endorsements and staged wagers.

Payments and management response

Modabber’s personal PayPal account reportedly paid creators more than $2.5 million across more than 800 recipients from January 2025 through February 2026. At least $350,000 went to identified influencers. The payments reportedly moved through an account tied to a separate business that Modabber co-founded.

Company lawyers reportedly raised concerns about the simulated-trading campaign and told him to stop it before the story became public in June. The reporting does not show that every payment or every creator related to the alleged staged-trading practices, and the internal investigation’s findings have not been published.

Regulatory and legal scrutiny

Two US senators, Adam Schiff and John Curtis, asked the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to investigate the advertising. Separately, the National Association of Consumer Advocates filed suit in Washington, D.C., on June 26. The complaint names Polymarket, Coplan and Modabber, among others, and alleges deceptive advertising, undisclosed paid endorsements, staged wagers and marketing aimed at college-aged consumers.

Those claims remain unresolved and do not establish violations of law. Any conclusion about the conduct will depend on the evidence and the outcome of the relevant legal and regulatory processes.

Institutional growth makes the claims more consequential

Polymarket’s expansion makes the advertising claims more consequential. Intercontinental Exchange, the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange, announced a strategic investment of up to $2 billion in October 2025 and another $600 million direct investment in March 2026. The deal was reported at a valuation of around $9 billion.

Polymarket and rival Kalshi have reportedly explored capital raises at higher valuations. Polymarket also has been relaunching in the United States through a CFTC-regulated structure after acquiring a licensed exchange. Reports that the company could pursue a public listing as soon as 2027 remain plans under consideration, not a confirmed IPO timetable.

Until legal and regulatory processes resolve the record, the public facts remain about 1,105 promotional videos, $1.9 million in simulated wagers and more than $2.5 million in creator payments; Modabber’s dismissal does not supply the missing findings.