‘Death markets!’ U.S lawmaker slams Polymarket bets on lost U.S soldiers in Iran

ambcryptoPublished on 2026-04-05Last updated on 2026-04-05

Abstract

U.S. lawmaker Seth Moulton strongly criticized the prediction market platform Polymarket for allowing users to bet on the fate of a missing American soldier in Iran-downed aircraft, calling it a "disgusting death market." He also accused former President Donald Trump, an investor in Polymarket, of potentially profiting from access to non-public intelligence. Polymarket quickly removed the market, citing integrity violations and launched an internal review. This incident is part of a broader pattern; the platform previously faced scrutiny when insiders reportedly earned over $1.2 million from contracts related to U.S. strikes in Iran and the death of its former leader. Senator Chris Murphy announced plans to introduce legislation to make such markets illegal, highlighting growing ethical and regulatory concerns around prediction platforms.

Polymarket is under scrutiny for supporting markets that speculate on deaths.

On Friday, U.S. House representative and senatorial aspirant Seth Moulton (D-MA) lashed out at the prediction site for encouraging “disgusting death markets.”

There is an ongoing search and rescue operation for a missing American service member whose plane was shot down over Iran. Their safety is unknown. They could be your neighbor, a friend, a family member. And people are betting on whether or not they’ll be saved.

He also criticized President Donald Trump for benefiting from the “death markets,” claiming his access to classified intelligence.

Quick reminder too that Donald Trump is an investor in this dystopian death market and may have access to intelligence that isn’t public yet.

Polymarket removes the alleged ‘death market’

Polymarket quickly archived the market, stating that it did not meet its “integrity standards.” The firm clarified that it was investigating how the market “slipped through its internal safeguards.”

Well, this wasn’t the first time Polymarket or prediction markets have faced scrutiny over such markets. In fact, many traders reportedly benefited from Ali Khamenei, the former Supreme Leader of Iran, killed during U.S. and Israeli attacks.

In fact, on Polymarket, an account made over $460K in profits trading contracts related to Iran strikes and Khamenei’s ouster.

On-chain analytics firm Bubblemaps estimated that 12 insiders made over $1.2 million from the Iran strikes and the subsequent death of its former leader. Most of the wallets were funded 24 hours before and bought the “US strikes Iran by February 28, 2026” contract hours before it happened.

Reacting to the raging ‘death markets’ and alleged insiders, Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) slammed,

It’s insane this is legal. People around Trump are profiting off war and death. I’m introducing legislation ASAP to ban this.

Kalshi, another prediction site, also faced similar scrutiny and a class lawsuit after it failed to pay $54M to traders betting on Khamenei’s ouster.

Overall, prediction markets have become a multi-billion-dollar segment as speculation interest surges across sports, politics, and other sectors.

That said, apart from the rising ethical questions, the fight between the CFTC and states on who should oversee prediction markets could also stifle the sector’s growth in the U.S.

Final Summary

A U.S. lawmaker has slammed prediction site Polymarket for its ‘death markets’ targeting stranded soldiers in Iran.
There has been growing criticism against the prediction market amid the ongoing West Asia crisis.

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