Tánaiste Simon Harris has said Gardaí, regulators and Government departments will examine what he described as “suspicious bets” placed on the outcome of the Dublin Central by-election through the cryptocurrency-based platform Polymarket.
The concern follows reports that more than $1 million worth of bets were placed on Friday’s by-election, including hundreds of thousands of euro wagered on Gerard Hutch not winning a seat.
There is no suggestion of wrongdoing by any candidate involved in the election.
Speaking at the Banking and Payments Federation conference in Dublin, Harris said the developments had raised “grave concerns” and warned that an unregulated “Wild West” appeared to be emerging around cryptocurrency betting markets.
“The developments that we have seen reported in recent days around the use of polymarkets to place suspicious bets on Irish elections also raises grave concerns for me,” he said.
“What seems to be developing at a global scale and indeed a rapid pace now is a kind of Wild West where people are placing bets in the form of cryptocurrency in a secretive, murky and unregulated manner.”
The Finance Minister said he had instructed officials to carry out a “deep-dive analysis” into the issue and confirmed discussions would involve the Department of Justice, An Garda Síochána, the gambling regulator, the Central Bank, EU partners and other agencies.
“We must engage with the Department of Justice, An Garda Síochána, the gambling regulator, the Central Bank, our EU partners and all relevant agencies and bodies as we consider an appropriate policy response,” he said.
Harris said there were two major concerns surrounding the platform — gambling regulation and the possibility of money laundering.
“There’s the element of gambling, and it is classified as gambling, and therefore the potential role for the gambling regulator, and I think a conversation around that would be important,” he said.
“And then, secondly, the potential concern that this is a vehicle that could be used in terms of money laundering as well.”
When asked whether he believed the Dublin Central betting market was being used to launder money, Harris stressed there was no evidence of wrongdoing connected to the by-election itself, but questioned why there appeared to be significant international interest in the market.
“One does have to ask themselves, why are so many people from potentially outside our jurisdiction interested in using Polymarket in relation to the Dublin Central by-election? Like that question merits consideration,” he said.
“Why are other kinds of names popping up in relation to people placing bets on polymarkets? What’s going on here?”
He added: “You certainly can’t rule out in a broad sense — not talking about a specific by-election as I don’t know — but in a broad sense, the idea of activity that may not be kosher, but I don’t have evidence in relation to that.”
Asked whether Government officials had been directed not to use the platform, Harris said the issue “merited consideration” and added that “people should always be ethical.”
