Babylon Riches

How to play Babylon Riches

Since returning its prediction market to the US, Polymarket has regularly engaged in nonconforming advertising. Painting a water tower in the company’s blue and branding the structure with its logo is the firm’s latest marketing ploy.

In March, Polymarket opened The Situation Room, a pop-up “newsbar” in Washington, DC. The bar and lounge’s televisions played various content related to prediction markets, like Bloomberg Terminals, cable news, and live social media feeds that were “dedicated to monitoring the situation.”

A month earlier, Polymarket opened a free grocery store in New York City. The promotion ran Feb. 12-16, with shoppers allowed to gather up to $50 per person in free groceries.   

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A complaint suggested that such placements were inappropriately targeted at under-18s.

White Hat Gaming paused the ads during the investigation and argued that HLTV’s audience is primarily adult and focused on professional competitive gaming rather than casual play, which tends to attract minors. 

HLTV corroborated this, highlighting its editorial tone as adult-oriented.

How to play Babylon Riches

The problem is that many of these recommendations involve companies that are not authorised to operate in Brazil. Some may be licensed in other countries, but that doesn’t allow them to operate legally in the Brazilian market.

The research also found profiles of influencers known as tipsters, sports traders and “professional gamblers”. They sell access to groups, predictions, spreadsheets and other products related to betting, while presenting gambling as an income-generating activity.

According to The Intercept, some content even uses expressions like “leaving the CLT [Brazilian labour law]” and “your dream income” to promote this type of activity. There are also screenshots of alleged user earnings and posts that present gambling as a kind of investment.