Fate of Missing US Pilot in Iran Becomes Betting Material, America Outraged

Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia - The fate of a United States (US) pilot has become a betting wager on the prediction market website Polymarket. The post was condemned by Seth Moulton, a member of the House of Representatives from the Democratic Party in Massachusetts.

An F-15E jet was shot down last Friday over Iran. The incident left one US pilot missing, while one crew member has been rescued.

US military forces earlier this week successfully rescued the trapped F-15 pilot in Iran’s mountains through a large-scale military operation.

The existence of the betting event on Polymarket has enraged Moulton, who called the site repulsive.

“They could be your neighbour, friend, or family member. And people are betting on whether they will be rescued or not,” Moulton explained in a post on his X account, quoted from CNBC International, on Monday (6/4/2026).

Polymarket responded to the issue swiftly by deleting the post. The site stated that it does not generate revenue or charge fees on any geopolitical markets.

In response to the closure, Moulton said the shutdown was not due to a violation of standards, but because of admonishment from relevant authorities.

“Polymarket did not close the market because it violated standards. They closed it because we admonished them,” Moulton clarified.

He also highlighted the position of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The commodities body actually has the authority to regulate prediction market platforms, yet no action has been taken.

Meanwhile, there are more than 200 active bets related to war on Polymarket. He called on Congress to act.

“That also needs to be changed. Yesterday there were 219 active bets in the ‘war’ category on Polymarket, today there are 223. It’s spreading and Congress must act,” he asserted.