Polymarket Cuts Marketing Contractors as It Seeks a $600K Fraud Chief

Polymarket is reshaping its workforce as it faces pressure to strengthen management and keep pace with rivals. The company has cut employees and marketing contractors while continuing to recruit senior fraud and financial-crime staff, according to a report by Finance Magnates.

The open roles would strengthen payment-fraud controls and build sanctions and AML capacity in its US business. Polymarket said the reorganisation had involved "a lot of new hires, changes in personnel and letting some people go." It did not disclose the number of departures.

However, contractors accounted for more than half of those affected, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters. The company has previously faced payment fraud in its US business, including a February incident where fraudsters attempted to steal at least $10 million.

Marketing Team Reshaped

Polymarket started restructuring its marketing function back in August, with hiring Travis VanderZanden, former Bird founder, as chief growth officer. He effectively replaced chief marketing officer Matthew Modabber, who had built a team of more than 50 people and was fired in October.

The company also changed the marketing team's organisational structure, rewrote its rules for promotional partners, and hired AlixPartners to monitor its content after the scandal over staged creator videos, triggered by a Wall Street Journal investigation.

The latest cuts reduced Polymarket's use of marketing contractors in particular, according to knowledgeable sources, cited by Front Office Sports. However, Polymarket continues hiring in the function, with senior roles including head of user acquisition and head of product marketing added since mid-October.

Fraud Controls Expansion

At the same time, the company is strengthening its compliance and anti-fraud departments. A New York-based Head of Fraud position with a base salary of $500,000–$600,000, plus equity and benefits, is among the recent job openings posted on Polymarket's career website.

The remit covers both customers exploiting the platform and criminals targeting its users. Stolen payment methods, account takeovers and abuse of promotional incentives are among the threats identified.

Polymarket US is also recruiting a Sanctions Compliance Officer and a Senior AML Investigator for its financial-crimes function. The sanctions officer would build a dedicated screening team, while the investigator would join a small team handling an existing caseload.

Recent Security Incidents

The platform has faced security challenges recently. In October, attackers compromised a third-party monitoring script and used customers' active sessions to sell positions and move funds out of their wallets.

The platform paused trading and reset active login sessions. It later said it was returning $3.9 million to traders, including compensation for losses tied to the trading pause.

The marketing cuts have taken effect, but these fraud and financial-crime positions remain open. The next step is to fill them: the sanctions officer would have to build a screening team, while the fraud chief would need product and engineering staff to put controls into customer and payment flows.