Polymarket CMO Allegedly Paid Influencers $350,000 Through Personal PayPal Without Disclosure

Polymarket's CMO, Matthew Modabber, allegedly paid influencers at least $350,000 from a personal PayPal account without disclosure. The payments, part of a larger $2.5M sent from the account, went to figures like Riley Gaines and Nick Shirley, who promoted the platform on X. This has raised questions about FTC compliance, as experts say such deals require disclosure. The scrutiny comes as the Trump administration takes a laissez-faire approach to regulating the growing prediction market industry.

Undisclosed influencer payment campaign

• ▪At least 20 influencers who received payments promoted Polymarket on X in approximately 490 posts without clear disclosure of a paid partnership
• ▪Polymarket's Chief Marketing Officer, Matthew Modabber, allegedly sent at least $350,000 to content creators between January 2025 and February 2026
• ▪Recipients of the payments reportedly included influencers Nick Shirley, Alex LoRusso, Brian Krassenstein, and Riley Gaines
• ▪A Polymarket spokesperson stated the influencer partnerships were part of the company's standard business practices

Personal PayPal business transactions

• ▪PayPal's user agreement specifies that personal accounts are intended for personal, family, or household purposes, not primarily for business activities
• ▪Polymarket's CMO, Matthew Modabber, allegedly used a personal PayPal account to make at least $350,000 in payments to influencers
• ▪The personal PayPal account used by Matthew Modabber sent over $2.5 million to more than 800 people during a 14-month period

FTC disclosure compliance questions

• ▪Former FTC deputy general counsel Robin Moore stated that this type of influencer payment arrangement would generally require disclosure
• ▪U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) rules require social media influencers to disclose any "material connection" to products they endorse
• ▪A POLITICO analysis found that none of the X posts from paid influencers during a 14-month period included disclosures of a paid promotion

Trump administration regulatory stance

• ▪The Trump administration has adopted a largely laissez-faire approach to regulating prediction markets like Polymarket
• ▪Polymarket has primarily operated outside the U.S. since a 2022 settlement with regulators for operating without a license
• ▪The Trump administration dropped a pair of investigations into Polymarket in the summer of 2025
• ▪Donald Trump Jr. is an investor in Polymarket and also serves as a paid advisor to its main competitor, Kalshi

Prediction market industry competition

• ▪An anonymous influencer paid by Polymarket claimed that at one point, Polymarket and Kalshi "literally at some point owned all big influencers."
• ▪Polymarket's monthly trading volume grew by nearly 400% between September and October 2024, amid the U.S. presidential election
• ▪Polymarket's main competitor, Kalshi, also uses paid partnerships with online content creators to expand its reach
• ▪Polymarket has processed billions in cumulative trading volume, with over $3 billion reported in a single January period