New accounts cash out over $100,000 on Israeli election bets

Prediction market operator Polymarket is investigating a cluster of trades made on the Israeli election held this week. According to a Bloomberg News report published Thursday, the platform’s internal team is reviewing dozens of newly created wallets that placed bets shortly before voting ended on Tuesday.

The accounts wagered on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu retaining his role and on his Likud party securing the most seats in the Knesset. These positions turned profitable almost immediately after exit polls indicated that Likud won more seats than earlier estimates had suggested. Some of the accounts have already withdrawn over $100,000, while many others hold unrealized gains.

The scrutiny reflects a wider trend in prediction markets, where platforms like Polymarket and Kalshi report rising volumes of suspicious activity. Reuters noted in May that Polymarket saw a sharp increase in trades flagged this year. Data analysis firms Polysights and Bubblemaps have independently flagged the Israeli election trades as suspicious and are currently examining the patterns.

Bloomberg noted that the findings are not yet conclusive. Analysts often struggle to distinguish between potential insider trading and accurate independent research or lucky guesses. Representatives for Polymarket and Polysights did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Bubblemaps stated that its analysis shared with the news outlet was recent and that it had no further updates at this time.