The fires affecting Los Angeles have already caused the death of five people and caused significant material damage, as well as the evacuation of the emblematic Hollywood district. At the same time, users of the Polymarket platform engage in a unique activity: they bet on these events and on its next developments. Let’s take stock.
Very bad taste bets
In a rather mind-blowing article, the site Futurism thus returns to these bets present on the service. This is how it is “Will the Palisades fire be contained Friday?”. » where over $40,000 was played.
Others anticipate the extent of the damage and speculate on its devastation. Fact: betting on the platform is theoretically prohibited from the United States. But that doesn’t stop Uncle Sam’s Internet users from engaging in this activity using VPNs.
By going to the site, you even discover a section dedicated to these fires. For example, a bet is on whether the mayor of Los Angeles and the governor of California will be dismissed or leave office shortly. Another anticipates “Will the Palisades fire spread to Santa Monica by Sunday?”. ». Users are speculating about the worst, answering yes at 51% at the time of writing.
There’s now a 91% chance the Palisades fire burns >10,000 acres by Friday.
That’s 12x the size of Central Park. pic.twitter.com/t3AEq2bTQE
— Polymarket (@Polymarket) January 8, 2025
Far from hiding, Polymarket also shared a visual on X (formerly Twitter) to report on one of these bets. It was enough to arouse the indignation of users of the social network. One of them laments: “In bad taste”. Another agrees: “It’s rare that gambling makes me angry, and that’s the case today. Betting on human misery is disgusting! » “What’s wrong with you?” »slices another.
Polymarket scrutinized in France
We have already told you about this American service which allows its users to bet on various scenarios, concerning sport, financial markets or even events of all kinds. All Internet users have to do is bet cryptocurrencies on what could happen and they recover their winnings or not.
Moreover, it seems that the National Gaming Authority (ANJ) monitors this platform. The authority would see his activity as a form of betting which could be considered illegal in France. Asked about this, the organization indicated: “We are aware of this site and we are currently examining its operation as well as its compliance with French gambling legislation. » More information on this in our previous article here.
