CEO Shayne Coplan instructed employees to prioritize the platform's expansion and accept potential regulatory fines rather than halting a $10 million fraud scheme in February, the Wall Street Journal reported. Fraudsters linked stolen debit cards to Polymarket US accounts to move funds through wagers and withdrawals into clean accounts they controlled. The app's payment processor rejected more than 80% of deposits as fraudulent at one point, far exceeding the 1% industry norm.

Polymarket said it maintains procedures to detect suspicious activity and is committed to working with law enforcement and regulators. Internal concerns were raised by staff who noticed security gaps created by the company's rapid growth strategy. These incidents occurred as the betting app pursued aggressive expansion in the US market.