MAGA 'manipulation’ sends Trump odds skyrocketing on betting markets: report

Experts are skeptical that a betting market being pushed by MAGA supporters of Donald Trump as proof that the former president is a sure bet to reclaim the White House is not the ace in the hole it’s proclaiming to be.

According to a Daily Beast report, experts are warning that the Elon Musk-supported Polymarket, which the publication notes is funded by Musk’s close friend and GOP mega-donor Peter Thiel, is being "manipulated by multi-million dollar wagers to make him appear certain of victory.”

“In fact a whopping $30 million – enough to significantly increase the likelihood Polymarket tells its users Trump has of winning – has been pumped into Polymarket this fall from a quartet of accounts. Experts believe they may be controlled by the same person,” according to the Daily Beast, which cites reporting in The Wall Street Journal.

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The betting market has drawn viral buzz and has been hyped on social media as an indication that the razor-thin presidential race is not as close as polling suggests. Polymarket currently lists Trump’s chances of beating Vice President Kamala Harris at 61.9%, the Daily Beast notes.

It adds that the multi-million dollar wagers placed by four users and identified by The Wall Street Journal “were reportedly all in favor of a Trump win on Election Day or iterations of it, like Trump winning Pennsylvania or the popular vote.”

Those bets, reportedly placed using the U.S.-based crypto exchange Kraken, have dramatically increased Polymarket’s general election odds in favor of Trump, according to the Daily Beast.

The report warns that Trump could use his substantial lead in the $30 million worth of Polymarket wagers – suspected by some to be a form of “market manipulation” – “as proof the election was stolen from him.”