Polymarket Removes Bet on Cornell Rape Allegations After Backlash

Polymarket has removed a contentious prediction market that let users bet on whether seven men accused of sexually assaulting a Cornell University student would be charged with felony sex offenses, after a sharp response from survivors’ rights advocates.

The market opened on September 30 and generated $451,633 in trading volume before Polymarket shut it down on Monday.

Traders estimated that the odds of at least one of the seven men being charged with a felony stood at roughly 28 percent. The contract had been set to expire on January 31, 2027.

The wager appeared on Polymarket’s international platform, but not on its US app—an arrangement that has intensified debate over the rapidly expanding and increasingly disputed prediction-market industry.

Polymarket initially defended the listing, saying markets of this kind could offer insight into major developments and the direction of legal proceedings.

That argument did little to quell the criticism. The decision to tie betting activity to serious sexual-assault allegations triggered widespread outrage online, while campaigners called on the company and its high-profile celebrity backers to explain their association with the platform.

Attorney and survivor advocate Cheyenne Hunt was among those who condemned the market, describing it as ‘dehumanizing, disgusting, and dangerous’ in an Instagram post.

“To the celebrity ambassadors for Polymarket, do you really want to be associated with this?” she added.

I Have The Right To, an advocacy organization that supports sexual-assault survivors, also condemned Polymarket’s decision to offer the contract.

“What kind of culture looks at sexual violence and sees an opportunity for profit?” the nonprofit wrote in a social media post.

The controversy has also renewed attention on Polymarket’s celebrity-driven promotional campaign. Basketball icon LeBron James is among the high-profile figures facing calls to cut ties with the company.

According to Front Office Sports, which first reported on the market, James is said to receive $15 million annually for promoting Polymarket.

The platform’s other notable endorsers include former NFL quarterback Eli Manning, baseball great Derek Jeter, ex-NFL players Reggie Bush and Richard Sherman, and basketball star Sue Bird.

An online petition titled “No Gambling on Gang Rape!” urged celebrities connected to Polymarket to end their relationships with the company.

The petition’s organizers argued that allowing people to profit from criminal-case outcomes could create incentives for individuals with inside information—or influence over the proceedings—to attempt to manipulate the process.

There is no known evidence that the Cornell investigation has been interfered with because of the prediction market.

The dispute is linked to a civil lawsuit filed in Manhattan on September 16 by a woman identified as Jane Doe. She alleges that seven members of Cornell University’s Chi Phi fraternity sexually assaulted her in October 2024.

The complaint says the student, who was 20 at the time, was intoxicated when she arrived at the fraternity house. She alleges that she was given ketamine, marijuana and more alcohol before being subjected to repeated sexual assaults.

The lawsuit names the seven men, Cornell University and several fraternity and sorority organizations, accusing them of wrongdoing that includes sexual assault and negligence.

The allegations have not been established in court, and the defendants’ inclusion in the lawsuit does not mean they have been found guilty of a crime.

Local authorities investigated the allegations in 2024, but the Tompkins County district attorney initially declined to bring criminal charges.

The investigation has since been reopened, bringing renewed attention to the case and the university’s handling of the allegations.

Cornell has said its disciplinary proceedings resulted in sanctions, including suspensions and expulsions.

We reached out to Polymarket, which stated via a spokesperson that the Cornel 7 market ‘addressed whether the government would take action – a process that deserves scrutiny, particularly in a case of such serious concern.’ 

‘That said, we believe in the wisdom of crowds, have heard them loud and clear, and removed the market,’ Polymarket’s spokesperson told us.

Critics, however, questioned whether attaching a financial incentive to the potential outcome of a sexual assault case could ever be justified as a form of public-interest information.

Alex Goldenberg, a senior fellow at Rutgers University’s Miller Center for Community Protection and Resilience, told the New York Post that contracts involving criminal cases could create incentives for people with inside information or influence over proceedings.

He argued that endorsers should recognize that promoting a prediction-market exchange differs from advertising conventional consumer products, because the markets themselves determine which subjects become opportunities for profit.

Polymarket has faced criticism over other controversial markets in the past, including wagers concerning a kidnapping investigation and unusual propositions linked to women’s basketball games.

Its rival, Kalshi, has also faced scrutiny over the subjects available for betting, although the company has said it would not have offered a market on the Cornell allegations.

The latest uproar adds to growing debate over where prediction-market companies should draw the line between forecasting public events and turning deeply sensitive situations into financial speculation.