Ballon d’Or organizers prepare suspicious betting complaint
Groupe Amaury, the owner of France Football, is preparing a criminal complaint following reports of suspicious Polymarket trades placed before the 2026 Ballon d’Or results were announced. The group said it was investigating allegations that confidential rankings had leaked and that wagers might have been fraudulent. Its statements described a complaint being prepared; they did not establish that a court had found wrongdoing.
The concerns arose from reporting by French financial publication Upside, which identified 12 accounts placing positions consistent with the eventual top-five finishing order. Harry Kane finished ahead of Kylian Mbappé, Lamine Yamal, Rodri, and Lionel Messi. Upside first reported the activity on October 23, before the rankings were announced at the October 26 ceremony.
In its subsequent blockchain investigation, Upside distinguished approximately $264,000 wagered from approximately $309,000 deposited across the accounts. It reported withdrawals of approximately $500,000 following the announcement. The publication explained that some deposited funds were not wagered, accounting for the difference between its betting and transfer totals. Those amounts are findings from its transaction analysis, rather than figures released by law enforcement.
Account links do not establish common ownership
Upside’s investigation grouped the accounts into three clusters but found no transfers connecting those clusters to one another. It therefore did not establish that a single person controlled all 12 accounts. Its reporting identified direct transfers among some accounts, alongside other similarities in funding and withdrawal activity that it treated as indications requiring further investigation.
One account, originally named kraben006, was linked in Upside’s analysis to a wallet that had previously received funds through French financial app Deblock. The publication said the connection could provide an identification route for authorities. That finding does not establish that Deblock participated in misconduct, identify its customer publicly, or prove how the bettor selected the eventual rankings.
Groupe Amaury said the integrity of the award was a priority and that inquiries were underway to establish the facts and determine any responsibility. Upside co-founder Raphaël Pautard separately cautioned that the observed trading did not itself prove insider dealing. The bettors’ identities and the origin of any information they may have used remained unresolved in the published findings.
