Polymarket apologizes after letting users bet on downed U.S. pilots in Iran: ‘It should not have been posted’

Predictions market platform Polymarket removed a market on its site that allowed users to bet on the condition of U.S. pilots following attacks on U.S. fighter jets.

Iran forces shot down two U.S. military planes on Friday in two separate attacks, including a U.S. F-15E Strike Eagle. One American service member was rescued on Friday, while another remained missing for part of the weekend. It was the first time U.S. aircraft were downed during the ongoing war in the Gulf.

The market on the platform, which has since been deleted, allowed users to wager on what day the pilots would be rescued. President Donald Trump confirmed on social media on Sunday that the service member who went missing had been saved.

However, the existence of the market drew outrage from some lawmakers, such as Democratic Rep. Seth Moulton, a Marine Corps combat veteran representing Massachusetts, who called betting on outcomes of the Iran war a “dystopian death market.”

There is an ongoing search and rescue operation for a missing American service member whose plane was shot down over Iran. Their safety is unknown,” Moulton wrote in an X post. “They could be your neighbor, a friend, a family member. And people are betting on whether or not they’ll be saved. This is DISGUSTING.”

Polymarket responded, saying, “We took this market down immediately as it does not meet our integrity standards. It should not have been posted, and we are investigating how this slipped through our internal........

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