Jeff Probst Blasts 90% Survivor Bets as Leak Risk on Kalshi, Polymarket
Updated
Updated · The A.V. Club · May 23
Jeff Probst Blasts 90% Survivor Bets as Leak Risk on Kalshi, Polymarket
1 articles · Updated · The A.V. Club · May 23
Jeff Probst said heavily one-sided Survivor betting markets can signal leaks, arguing that if 90% of wagers back one contestant, "there's a leak."
Kalshi and Polymarket have intensified the problem because Survivor is filmed months before airing, creating a window for insiders or others to profit from advance information.
Probst, the show's host and executive producer, said the markets are "incentivizing people to lie, cheat and steal" and undermining the series' integrity.
Betting on Survivor is not new—the show faced a 2003 scandal after two CBS staffers were found to have wagered on Survivor: Marquesas—but larger, more accessible prediction markets have raised the stakes.
Can pre-taped reality TV survive the rise of billion-dollar prediction markets?
Are prediction markets the future of forecasting or just a high-tech, unregulated casino?