Ballon d’Or Owner Probes Claims After Bets Match Men’s Top Five

The company behind France Football and the Ballon d’Or ceremony, Groupe Amaury, is examining claims that the 2026 men’s results were leaked before a cluster of Polymarket wagers tracked the eventual top five.

On Oct. 31, the group said inquiries were underway to verify the allegations and determine responsibility. It described a complaint as “in progress,” without naming a court or prosecutor. “The integrity of the Ballon d’Or is an absolute priority,” Groupe Amaury said.

Twelve Polymarket accounts placed a combined $264,000 on outcomes consistent with the final sequence: Harry Kane, Kylian Mbappé, Lamine Yamal, Rodri and Lionel Messi. The official ranking later listed the players in that order. The wagers were estimated to have generated nearly $200,000 in winnings.

The accounts were created from Oct. 1 to Oct. 20. Seven had no bets in other markets, and six placed their first wagers within 15 minutes of account creation. Only kraben006 wagered on each of the five places in separate bets.

On-chain tracing estimated that the accounts deposited about $309,000 and withdrew about $500,000 after the results became public. The ranking was announced at 6:51 p.m. ET (10:51 p.m. UTC) on Oct. 26, and the first withdrawal followed 19 minutes later. About $374,000 had left Polymarket within three hours. Not all deposited funds were wagered.

France Football’s published rules assign voting to an international jury of journalists. Voting closed Sept. 28, three days before the earliest account was created. Polymarket’s rules prohibit trading on confidential information when a trade would violate an existing duty of trust or confidence.

France’s National Gambling Authority (ANJ) ordered internet providers to block access to Polymarket in July, saying it offered unauthorized gambling services in France. The order does not establish where the bettors were located.

Public information has not identified the account holders or a source for any advance information. The matching bets and wallet movements alone do not establish that results were leaked.