TLDR Polymarket bettors sent death threats to a military reporter, demanding he change his coverage of an Iranian missile strike on Israel to help them win bets from a $14 million prediction pool The reporter refused to alter his story and filed a police report, handing all threat messages to authorities U.S. lawmakers introduced the Death Bets Act to ban prediction markets involving war, assassinations, and human fatalities Polymarket banned the threatening users and removed a market asking users to bet on a nuclear weapon detonation Despite the controversy, Kalshi processed over $10 billion and Polymarket nearly $8 billion in trading volume in February alone
Gamblers on prediction platform Polymarket sent death threats to a military journalist after he reported on an Iranian missile strike near the Israeli city of Beit Shemesh on March 10.
The bettors had money riding on a $14 million prediction pool asking whether Iran would strike Israel on that date. The market’s rules stated that an intercepted missile would not count as a successful strike.
Reporter Emanuel Fabian wrote that the Iranian missile hit an open area near the city. Almost immediately, users flooded his messaging apps, social media accounts, and email inbox with threatening messages.
The bettors demanded that Fabian rewrite his article to claim Israeli forces had intercepted the weapon. One user threatened to kill him if he refused to change the story.
Fabian did not change his reporting. He relied on statements from military and rescue sources and stood by his original piece.
Lawmakers Respond With Proposed Bans
The incident caught the attention of politicians in Washington. Senator Adam Schiff and Representative Mike Levin introduced the Death Bets Act earlier this month to ban prediction markets involving war, assassinations, and human fatalities.
Senator Chris Murphy separately proposed banning wagers