Polymarket fires chief marketing officer after investigation into promotional practices

Polymarket has terminated Chief Marketing Officer Matthew Modabber after an internal investigation into its marketing tactics, following reporting that raised questions about staged betting videos, influencer disclosure, and simulated trades. For high-risk operators and their PSPs, the point is not the personnel change itself; it is the compliance exposure that comes with promotional claims that blur the line between marketing and customer activity.

1. The company’s review focused on allegations that Polymarket used staged betting videos, worked with social media influencers without sufficiently transparent disclosure, and presented simulated trades as if they were real customer gains. The issue first came into view through a Wall Street Journal investigation earlier this year.
2. That investigation said some online creators posted videos falsely showing customers winning approximately $1.9 million through the platform. In other words: marketing content that looks like proof of liquidity or user success can become a regulatory problem fast, especially when disclosure is thin.
3. The New York Post first reported Modabber’s departure. He was hired in 2024 and was one of Polymarket’s earliest executives, with the move ending his long-standing professional relationship with founder and CEO Shayne Coplan.
4. Polymarket is reported to be finalising a separation agreement, but neither the company nor Modabber has publicly commented on the dismissal. The company also has not addressed speculation that the management shake-up could be tied to preparations for an Initial Public Offering.
5. A separate Politico report said scrutiny extended to more than $2.5 million in payments routed through Modabber’s personal PayPal account to over 800 recipients between January 2025 and February 2026. At least $350,000 reportedly went to identified influencers, which puts disclosure and payment-control processes squarely in the spotlight.

Polymarket has not issued a public statement on the investigation or on the broader compliance questions around its promotional activity. For PSPs, the useful takeaway is plain: when influencer spend, payment routing, and customer-facing claims sit in the same workflow, the control environment is part of the product, whether the marketing team likes it or not.