Abstract:
According to the Wall Street Journal, citing anonymous sources, Polymarket, a well-known prediction market platform, has received US$300 million in financing from 1789 Capital. The investment is part of a new financing round totaling approximately $1 billion. 1789 Capital, an investment fund with Donald Trump Jr. as a partner, has previously invested $200 million in Polymarket.
The fund has also backed other controversial tech projects, including the enhancement games dubbed the "Steroid Olympics" launched by former employees of several tech companies.
In recent years, prediction markets have continued to attract regulatory attention. Several U.S. state governments are seeking to enact new regulations to limit or regulate how residents use such platforms. At least 20 states currently have lawsuits against prediction platforms for offering sports betting-related deals.
At the same time, the federal government has repeatedly defended the prediction market industry from state-level regulation. The Trump administration has argued that the industry should be regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, not state governments. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has sued at least nine states over their attempts to regulate prediction markets.
Recently, a coalition of 44 state attorneys general wrote a letter arguing that the Commodity Futures Trading Commission has no authority to regulate sports betting transactions on prediction platforms.
The New York Times previously reported that Donald Trump Jr. recently attended an event involving conservative state attorneys general. He said at the event that the prediction market industry is already subject to "strong regulation" and said such platforms should be regulated by federal officials rather than state attorneys general.
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