Iraq vet lashes out at Polymarket for ‘disgusting’ bets on airmen’s lives in the Iran war
An all-new low for online betting.
Online betting platform Polymarket has finally stopped accepting wagers on when U.S. warplane crew members, shot down in Iran, might be rescued, promising an investigation into how such a market ever appeared. According to The Guardian, this move comes after significant criticism, particularly from a federal lawmaker who called the bets “DISGUSTING.”
The controversy erupted after Representative Seth Moulton, a Massachusetts Democrat with a distinguished service record in the United States Marine Corps during the Iraq war, publicly slammed Polymarket. Moulton, who earned two Bronze Star medals for his service between 2003 and 2008, took to X to express his outrage.
This whole situation kicked off on a Friday when Iranian military forces shot down an F-15E Strike Eagle jet. This aircraft was carrying two U.S. Air Force members who were participating in the ongoing war on Iran, a war that’s been waged by the U.S. and Israel since February 28, 2026. An F-15E Strike Eagle is designed for all-weather, air-to-air, and air-to-ground missions, and frequently supports operations like Epic Fury, as was the case here on March 9.
Both airmen were rescued hours after the incident
The aircraft’s pilot was thankfully rescued within about seven hours of the incident. The other crew member’s rescue was announced just after midnight on Sunday by President Trump himself, who shared the news on his Truth Social platform. Before these rescues were confirmed, Polymarket was letting users place bets on the timing of both, with many predicting they would happen by Saturday.
Moulton was absolutely furious when he learned about these bets. While the search-and-rescue teams were out there, doing everything they could to find the downed crew, Moulton posted on X, “Their safety is unknown… And people are betting on whether or not they’ll be saved. This is DISGUSTING.” He even made it personal, reminding everyone on April 3, 2026, that “They could be your neighbor, a friend, a family member.”
Polymarket’s X account quickly responded to Moulton, stating, “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 safeguards.”
While that sounds like a step in the right direction, Moulton wasn’t satisfied. He fired back in another post, pointing out that Polymarket was still hosting hundreds of other war-related wagers that really should be deactivated. He plainly stated that the company’s “integrity standards are severely lacking.”
Moulton’s criticism didn’t stop there. He went on to mention that Trump’s oldest son, Donald Trump Jr., is an investor in Polymarket. He said, “Quick reminder too that @DonaldJTrumpJr is an investor in this dystopian death market and may have access to intelligence that isn’t public yet.”
The Iraq vet followed up with another update, declaring, “Taking down this particular bet after I called it out can only be the first step, @Polymarket. There are still 219 war bets active on your platform. Remove these immediately.”
This isn’t the first time Moulton has targeted Don Jr. and prediction markets
On April 2, he posted a video on X with the caption: “@donaldjtrumpjr invests in Polymarket. Also advises their main competitor Kalshi. Regulatory pressure on both eases, and, naturally, perfectly timed wagers on political outcomes start hitting. Aside from memecoin scams, is there any industry that fits the Trumps better than ‘prediction’ markets? The Trumps aren’t public servants. They’re con artists.”
He even called out those betting on war on March 27, stating, “While MAGA makes millions betting on mass casualties on Kalshi and Polymarket, we’re doing the right thing. Our staff has not and will not bet on atrocities. That’s only step one.” He’s been consistently vocal about his concerns regarding these platforms.
Polymarket hasn’t offered any additional comments on Moulton’s condemnation or provided details about the investigation it promised. This silence leaves a lot of questions unanswered about how they plan to truly address these “integrity standards.”
The exchange with Moulton isn’t an isolated incident for Polymarket
Back in March, some users of the platform made international headlines for sending threatening messages to an Israeli journalist. This happened after some of his reporting on a missile strike near Jerusalem became the center of an unresolved bet related to the war in Iran. It just goes to show that these platforms can sometimes attract some pretty unsavory behavior and have real-world consequences.
Platforms like Polymarket, which allow users to bet on everything from geopolitical conflicts and elections to entertainment awards and sports, are increasingly under the microscope. As these platforms attract more and more bettors, congressional scrutiny is definitely ramping up. Lawmakers are clearly getting worried about the ethical implications.
Just in March, congressional lawmakers introduced a proposal that aims to ban prediction markets from accepting bets related to sports or casino-style games. And on a separate but very similar note, another proposal in March called for banning prediction markets that involve government actions, war, and “events ripe for rigging.”
Chris Murphy, a Democratic US senator from Connecticut, spoke out about the latter of these measures, and his words really hit home. He said, “When events that involve good and evil, life and death become just another financial product, morality no longer matters and the soul of America is fundamentally corrupted.”
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