Platform access suspended briefly

The online betting company Polymarket temporarily suspended access to its platform for about 55 minutes on October 29 after hackers accessed some users' accounts and retrieved accumulated funds. The company attributed the issue to a third-party provider, possibly DebugBear, and announced on its X account that its international platform, Polymarket.com, was operating in "only cancellation" mode, allowing users to cancel their bets while an investigation took place.

Resolution and compensation details

An hour after the incident, Polymarket stated that the issue had been resolved and confirmed that one of its third-party providers had been the victim of an intrusion, which had been reported to the relevant authorities. The incident appears to have caused some users to lose their digital wallets, though the company did not explicitly confirm that users lost money. It assured users that those who suffered losses would be fully compensated.

Estimated losses and third-party involvement

According to CNBC, Polymarket explained on Discord that users who lost less than $10,000 would be reimbursed by October 30, while those who lost more would first have to sign a waiver to recover their money. Bubblemaps estimated that more than 700 users were affected, with $2.7 million stolen. Reuters reported that the problem stemmed from the use of DebugBear's tools, which provide web monitoring services.

DebugBear's response and legal context

At the same time as the incident, DebugBear posted a message on X stating that it was facing a security incident and asked users of its RUM product to remove the integration code from their websites. As DebugBear is based in the United Kingdom, Polymarket reported the issue to the authorities in that country. DebugBear did not respond to requests for more information. Polymarket's security issues are unlikely to improve its relationship with authorities around the world.

Regulatory scrutiny and previous issues

The company's activities are under scrutiny by the State of New York for illegal gambling activities. In France, the company's website is blocked by major internet access providers at the request of the National Gambling Authority (ANJ), which considers that it promotes an illegal gambling and chance offer. In September, the company conducted lobbying in Europe to assure authorities that its activities were more appropriately categorized as "prediction markets" rather than online betting sites.

Blocking in Spain and past controversies

Like in France and elsewhere in Europe, Spain has also blocked access to Polymarket and Kalshi. Previously, videos of huge gains on Polymarket were revealed to be fakes paid by the platform.