Polymarket caved to backlash and removed a bet that allowed gamblers to wager on whether seven Cornell University fraternity members accused in a gang-rape lawsuit will face felony sex-crime charges.
The company took down the wager after activists demanded that LeBron James and other celebrity endorsers cut ties with the prediction-market platform
More than $450,000 had been traded on the wager as of Monday afternoon as authorities revisited allegations that a female student was drugged and sexually assaulted at a fraternity house in 2024.
Before the bet was removed, traders were pricing the probability of felony charges against at least one of the men at roughly 28%, with $451,633 in trading volume.
News of the wager, which was available on Polymarket’s international platform but not its US app, was first reported by Front Office Sports.
Polymarket took the page for the bet offline after The Post contacted the company seeking comment.
The betting frenzy sparked outrage among sexual assault advocates, who pressured the company’s high-profile celebrity pitchmen to denounce the market publicly.
“This is dehumanizing, disgusting, and dangerous,” attorney Cheyenne Hunt wrote in an Instagram post.
“To the celebrity ambassadors for Polymarket, do you really want to be associated with this?” she added.
A petition circulating online under the banner “No Gambling on Gang Rape!” singled out James, Eli Manning, Derek Jeter, Emily Ratajkowski, Alexandra Daddario and other celebrities who have promoted the platform.
The Post has sought comment from those celebrities.
The campaign accused the stars of lending their reputations to a company that permits speculation on sexual assault cases and urged them to sever their relationships with Polymarket.
“As women, sexual assault survivors, advocates, and allies, we are horrified that this type of betting is not only being allowed,” the petition states.
The organizers also warned that allowing people to profit from the outcome of criminal proceedings could create financial incentives for individuals with influence over a case to interfere with the process.
There is no known evidence that such interference has occurred in the Cornell investigation.
The controversy threatens to put Polymarket’s lucrative celebrity marketing strategy under scrutiny.
James is receiving $15 million annually to promote the company, Front Office Sports reported last month.
“Endorsing an exchange is different from endorsing a sneaker, because the product is the set of questions the company chooses to ask, so endorsers should know what categories are off limits and have an exit when the platform crosses a line,” Alex Goldenberg, a senior fellow at Rutgers University’s Miller Center for Community Protection and Resilience, told The Post.
Other prominent endorsers include former NFL stars Manning, Reggie Bush and Richard Sherman, along with basketball legend Sue Bird.
Representatives for the athletes did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The advocacy group I Have The Right To, which focuses on sexual assault, also condemned the wager and accused celebrities of helping legitimize the platform.
“What kind of culture looks at sexual violence and sees an opportunity for profit?” the nonprofit asked in an Instagram post.
Polymarket defended its decision to offer the contract, arguing that prediction markets provide valuable information about major events.
A company spokesperson told Front Office Sports that such markets can offer “objective, data-driven insight into how a matter like this is moving through the legal system.”
The spokesperson added that sexual assault on college campuses deserves greater transparency and public attention.
“Polymarket says these markets simply reflect what participants believe, but the platform has built a financial incentive structure that rewards anyone with inside knowledge of a case or a hand in steering it, from investigators to grand jurors to witnesses,” Goldenberg told The Post.
Goldenberg is an adviser to BETINT, a company that monitors prediction markets for suspected insider trading and manipulation. He said he has no financial ties to Polymarket or rival Kalshi.
The uproar centers on a civil lawsuit filed Sept. 16 in Manhattan Supreme Court by a woman identified as Jane Doe, who alleges that seven members of Cornell’s Chi Phi fraternity sexually assaulted her during the night of Oct. 19, 2024, and into the following morning.
According to the 101-page complaint, the then-20-year-old student was intoxicated when she arrived at the frat house, where members allegedly supplied her with ketamine, marijuana and additional alcohol before subjecting her to repeated sexual assaults.
The lawsuit names Cornell, several fraternity and sorority organizations and the seven men, accusing the university and other defendants of failing to protect the student.
The allegations have not been established in court.
The Tompkins County district attorney initially declined to bring criminal charges in 2024 but has since reopened the investigation.
Cornell has said its disciplinary proceedings resulted in sanctions that included suspensions and expulsions.
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