Polymarket, the prediction market platform, is paying social media users to quote-retweet content from its branded esports accounts. The program includes more than 800 participants, according to posts by a Polymarket representative in an internal Discord, with rates ranging from $10 to several hundred dollars per post, paid in crypto.
Paying social media users to engage with content is not illegal, and the program has robust guidelines around disclosure and the kinds of quote retweets the company wants. But the small "Paid partnership" tag on X, the only public sign that money is changing hands, hides the scale and sophistication of Polymarket's esports operation. The operation has more than doubled in size since August. Inside the Discord, Polymarket representatives have repeatedly told participants to make their posts look "organic", an effort one expert said aims to win over esports fans and casual observers.
One Polymarket representative wrote that posts "need to look organic," adding that an X profile resembling a Polymarket billboard "looks absolutely awful." Polymarket operates two products: Polymarket Global, which is inaccessible to U.S. bettors, and Polymarket US, which is subject to U.S. regulations. In esports, a growing market for the company, it offers bets on major event outcomes, player statistics, and novelty wagers, including some about teams players might transfer to in the off-season.
The company's esports outreach is an open secret in the scene. Some social media users have voiced dismay at the rising presence of gambling-adjacent companies, which they have seen arrive and leave with deep-pocketed crypto firms and venture capital backers. Emails to Polymarket's press line and direct messages to Discord representatives seeking comment went unanswered. The Discord's participants include prominent commentators, current and former players, team coaches, media entrepreneurs, PR professionals, and employees of esports tournaments.
Source: Hacker News · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing