Polymarket recently poured millions of dollars into securing the endorsements of legendary athletes, including LeBron James, Derek Jeter, and Sue Bird, to highlight its sports “prediction market.” The company should have stuck to sports. According to a report from Front Office Sports, the technically-not-a-gambling platform recently took down a market that allowed users to bet on whether or not any of the Cornell University Chi Phi fraternity members accused of rape will be charged with a felony sex crime.
In an archived version of the market, which was only available for users outside of the United States, users were able to select “Yes” or “No” as the outcome to the question, “Any of the Cornell 7 charged with a felony sex crime?” Per Front Office Sports, the market opened on September 30. At the time it was shut down by Polymarket, it had amassed $451,633 in trading volume, with 72% of users betting that the market would resolve to “No.”
Per the market’s rules, it would resolve to “Yes” if “any Federal or State jurisdiction of the United States formally charges or otherwise announces a criminal indictment” of any member of the so-called Cornell Seven, “with a felony sex crime.”
The bet was roundly criticized, particularly by advocacy groups representing victims of sexual assault and violence—but would be reasonably denounced by any person with an ounce of decency. While the company operates on the premise that anything and everything should be “tradeable” (read: something you can gamble on), it has repeatedly pushed the line by creating ripped-from-the-headlines markets that, if you think about it for even a second, grossly devalue human life and promote antisocial behavior.
Polymarket has previously hosted markets asking whether the kidnappers of Nancy Guthrie, the mother of “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie, would be arrested and whether a downed American pilot would be rescued or not. It has also allowed people to “predict” whether a dildo would be thrown on the court at a WNBA game, which would really only serve to encourage someone to make sure such a market resolves in their own favor.
Gizmodo reached out to Polymarket for comment regarding the Cornell Seven market and its decision to pull it, but did not receive a response at the time of publication.
A spokesperson for the company told Front Office Sports, “Markets bring better, unbiased information about important events, in contrast to the disinformation we’re all drowning in, which too often leaves the public misled and disillusioned to the point of apathy. This case, and sexual assault on college campuses more broadly, are deeply important issues, and markets bring objective, data-driven insight into how a matter like this is moving through the legal system, on a topic that deserves far more transparency and honest attention.”
Turns out letting people gamble on the outcome of a rape case is actually an important public service. Thank you, Polymarket, for bravely taking people’s money so they can guess the outcome of a case that will, regardless of what happens, alter the lives of the people involved. How’d we ever operate before this service was available?
