Bets for Maria Corina Machado spiked on Polymarket gambling site hours before she was awarded prize
Norwegian officials who oversee the Nobel peace prize are investigating suspicious online betting for this year’s winner that suggests a rare leak from the secretive committee that hands out the prize.
Online bets for the Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado spiked on the Polymarket gambling site shortly after midnight on Thursday, Norwegian time, according to the information on its website.
The head of the Nobel Institute, Kristian Berg Harpviken, told Bloomberg: “It seems we have been prey to a criminal actor who wants to earn money on our information.”
Hours later, Machado was awarded the 2025 Nobel peace prize for her democratic activism in the authoritarian nation, marking the first time a Venezuelan has received the coveted honour. She was informed of her win at 10.50 Norwegian time by Kristian Berg Harpviken, director of the Nobel Institute.
