{
  "id": 17138477,
  "title": "Polymarket investigates suspicious trades on Israel election",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/29/polymarket-investigates-suspicious-trades-on-israel-election",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-29T23:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Straits Times Business",
    "slug": "straits-times-business",
    "url": "https://www.straitstimes.com/business/polymarket-investigates-suspicious-trades-on-israel-election"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Polymarket is investigating a series of trades placed before the Israeli election on October 27, 2026, which they believe may be related to insider trading. Hundreds of new accounts made bets that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Likud party would perform better than their opponents, and some of these trades have already turned profitable, yielding over US$100,000. The betting activity became clear due to the transparency of Polymarket's blockchain ledger. Two data analysis firms, Polysights and Bubblemaps, have also flagged the trades as suspicious and are conducting their own investigations. Polymarket temporarily halted trading on October 29 after users reported funds being stolen, citing a third-party compromise. Once trading resumed, the company stated that Netanyahu's odds of becoming the next prime minister surged to 59%, while opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot's odds dropped to 21%. This comes amid ongoing concerns about insider trading in prediction markets, especially around sensitive political events. In a letter to Polymarket and its main rival Kalshi, Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren and Republican Senator John Curtis raised questions about the exchanges' ability to effectively police insider trading and manipulation in election-related markets.",
  "summary": "Hundreds of new accounts placed bets that Benjamin Netanyahu and his Likud party would do better just before the polls closed.",
  "key_points": [
    "Polymarket investigating suspicious trades before Israeli election",
    "Hundreds of new accounts bet on Netanyahu's Likud party winning",
    "Trading halted after funds reported stolen, Netanyahu odds rise to 59%"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": "https://urgent.news/ill/17138477.png",
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 8,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Ynetnews",
        "title": "Israel election turnout hits 74.3% by 8 p.m., highest since 1988",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/27/israel-election-turnout-hits-74-3-by-8-p-m-highest-since-1988",
        "published": "2026-10-27T17:15:59.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "DW News",
        "title": "Israel election: Netanyahu-led bloc holds lead with nearly 99% of votes counted",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/29/israel-election-netanyahu-led-bloc-holds-lead-with-nearly-99-of-votes",
        "published": "2026-10-29T06:36:00.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Haaretz",
        "title": "Israel election count completed: These are the final results",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/29/israel-election-count-completed-these-are-the-final-results",
        "published": "2026-10-29T19:13:58.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Al Jazeera",
        "title": "Israel election result shows no overall majority as vote count complete",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/29/israel-election-result-shows-no-overall-majority-as-vote-count",
        "published": "2026-10-29T20:22:04.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Arutz Sheva - Israel National News",
        "title": "Polymarket investigates suspicious bets on Israel's election",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/29/polymarket-investigates-suspicious-bets-on-israels-election",
        "published": "2026-10-29T21:28:51.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Qatar Tribune",
        "title": "Opposition meets to explore coalition after Israel election",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/29/opposition-meets-to-explore-coalition-after-israel-election",
        "published": "2026-10-29T21:56:51.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Malay Mail",
        "title": "Netanyahu leads Israel election but fails to secure majority, setting stage for weeks of coalition talks",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/30/netanyahu-leads-israel-election-but-fails-to-secure-majority-setting",
        "published": "2026-10-30T01:18:03.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}