Polymarket removes contract allowing users to wager on fate of Cornell students accused of rape

Polymarket has removed a contract from its prediction market platform that allowed users to wager on whether any of the seven men accused of raping a Cornell student in 2024 will be charged with a felony sex crime.The market was made available on Sept. It had more than $450,000 in volume before it was taken off Polymarket's international platform. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which bans trading related to “activity that is unlawful under Federal or State law.”“Our primary goal at Polymarket is to bring objective, data-driven insight to the most important questions of our time,” a Polymarket spokesperson said Tuesday.

“This market addressed whether the government would take action — a process that deserves scrutiny, particularly in a case of such serious concern. That said, we believe in the wisdom of crowds, have heard them loud and clear, and removed the market.”Front Office Sports was the first to report on the contract.Some outcry over the Polymarket contract has been aimed at its celebrity promoters. Philadelphia 76ers star LeBron James has an endorsement deal with Polymarket, and he recently appeared in a star-studded commercial that also included cameos by Derek Jeter, Eli Manning, Sue Bird and several celebrities.Messages were left by the AP on Tuesday with representatives for James, Jeter, Manning and Bird.Polymarket also has partnership agreements with the NHL, Major League Baseball, Major League Soccer, the UFC and ATP Tour.

Messages were left by the AP seeking comment from each organization.A spokesman for Spike Lee, who also appeared in the Polymarket commercial with James, said the director had no comment. Messages also were left with representatives for actors Craig Robinson, John Leguizamo and Alexandra Daddario — who were also part of the commercial with James.A woman identified in court documents by the pseudonym Jane Doe filed a lawsuit last month alleging that seven fraternity members sexually assaulted or exploited her in October 2024 and that Cornell mishandled her complaints. All of those men have denied her allegations, saying either that their interactions were consensual or that they weren’t involved.Online critics characterized the Polymarket contract as degrading and questioned why celebrity ambassadors would associate themselves w…