Former SEC chief of staff Amanda Fischer on Sunday blasted billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman‘s suggestion to NYC Mayor Eric Adams on a Polymarket betting deal, calling it “very illegal.”
In an X post, Ackman highlighted the NYC Mayoral Election odds on Polymarket, which gave Adams only 1% chance of winning, compared to 15% for Andrew Cuomo and 80% for Zohran Mamdani.
The Pershing Square Capital Management CEO suggested that Adams withdraw from the race to avoid risking his reputation and do “what is best for NYC.”
“The experts I trust predict the odds shift to approximately 50/50 in a one-on-one Cuomo/Mandami election. If the field narrows soon, the odds get even better for Cuomo,” said Ackman, a fierce critic of Mamdani’s policies.
Ackman went a step further and advised Adams to place a large bet on Andrew Cuomo’s chances of winning the election, then withdraw and cash in his bet once Cuomo’s odds rise. He added that he had not placed any bets on the outcome.
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While Ackman said the strategy did not constitute insider trading, Fischer was quick to respond.
“Commodity Exchange Act Section 6(c)(1) does actually prohibit the misuse of material nonpublic information in derivative markets,” she said.
According to Fisher, Ackman’s proposal is “very illegal” because Polymarket, the platform where the bet would be placed, has declared itself a “futures exchange.”
Rob Schwartz, former General Counsel of the CFTC, agreed with Fisher’s arguments.
Polymarket didn’t immediately return Benzinga’s request for comment on Fischer’s observations.
Polymarket, a decentralized prediction platform, recently received approval from the CFTC to operate in the U.S. The agency said it took a “no-action position” on swap data reporting and recordkeeping regulations for event contracts in response to a request from QCEX, a licensed derivatives exchange that Polymarket acquired in July.
