A Lucky Bet Pays Off Big in Venezuela's Turmoil

In the world of online betting, someone just hit a massive jackpot. This person, who remains anonymous, made a smart bet on a prediction market. They bet that Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro would be removed from power. This bet paid off big when Maduro was captured by the U. S. military over the weekend. The trader used a platform called Polymarket. They bought contracts that would pay out if Maduro was removed. These contracts were worth about $34, 000 before the capture. After the news broke, the value of these contracts skyrocketed. The trader made a profit of over $400, 000. This event has caught the attention of U. S. lawmakers. They are concerned about insider trading and the use of non-public information. Democratic Congressman Ritchie Torres plans to introduce a bill to ban lawmakers and federal employees from trading on prediction markets.The anonymous trader's account was created last month. They started buying contracts on December 27. These contracts were based on the possibility of a U. S. invasion of Venezuela by January 31. The trader made several more bets in the following days. Prediction markets like Polymarket allow users to bet on a wide range of events. These events can be related to sports, entertainment, politics, or the economy. When a contract pays out, traders can make significant profits, especially if they have access to non-public information. Polymarket has faced scrutiny before for potential insider trading. While Americans do not have direct access to the main betting platform, many use VPNs to bypass this restriction.