Entertainment
Potential World Cup manipulation on Polymarket flagged by sports advisory group
An independent group that monitors potential manipulation of sports competitions has announced the results of a yet-to-be-released report examining irregularities related to betting and gambling on FIFA World Cup matches.
The organization called Group of Copenhagen monitored all 104 matches and determined that 15 games rose to the level of requiring enhanced monitoring. The group also assessed 12 major controversies from an “integrity risk perspective.”
While the Group of Copenhagen has yet to release its full detailed report, the New York Times has reported that a few of these flagged events involve the online prediction market Polymarket.
The report singles out how $4.8 million was placed on Polymarket for Spain not to defeat Cape Verde in their group stage game, which was the first game either team played in this year’s tournament. The game’s result, a goalless draw, was considered to be one of the biggest shocks of the entire World Cup. Spain was a tournament favorite and went on to win the championship. Cape Verde was playing its first-ever World Cup game.
However, much more notable than a surprising game outcome is the market that was opened on Polymarket based on the red card issued to the U.S. Men’s National Team striker Folarin Balogun.
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According to the report, a Polymarket market was opened on July 2, which asked: “Will Folarin Balogun play against Belgium?” That was the same day that Balogun was issued a red card in U.S.’s match against Bosnia and Herzegovina. The red card meant Balogun would not be able to play in the match against Belgium.
However, on July 5, before the U.S. vs. Belgium match, FIFA announced that Balogun would be allowed to play and that his ban would be suspended. President Donald Trump would take credit for FIFA’s decision shortly after, saying he had a phone call with FIFA head Gianni Infantino. Reporting later confirmed that U.S. officials went to work immediately following the red card being issued to have it overturned.
Did Trump officials who were privy to this information partake in insider trading to make a profit on Polymarket? It’s a legitimate question to ask, especially in light of recent news that Trump’s teleprompter operator profited from their position by placing trades on Kalshi.
Prediction markets have blown up in popularity in recent years. Kalshi, a prediction market that partnered with the World Cup’s official prediction market sponsor, ADI Predictstreet, has said that a record $1.2 billion in trades was placed on its platform to predict the World Cup winner. The company said it also gained 3 million new users directly from the World Cup.
According to experts interviewed by the New York Times, the irregularities don’t necessarily mean that any manipulation occurred. While the Group of Copenhagen’s research was coordinated with FIFA’s own Integrity Task Force, FIFA has released its own findings claiming that “no suspicious betting activity or indications of match manipulation in connection with any fixture” had been identified.
Entertainment
Comic-Con 2026: All the movie and TV announcements you need to know
Comic-Con International: San Diego has always been a barometer for where the entertainment industry is placing its biggest bets, and this year’s lineup made that clearer than ever. Over the course of a single weekend, Marvel Studios, Prime Video, Apple TV, and AMC all used the convention floor to unveil casting reveals and first-look footage for some of their most closely watched projects, spanning superhero blockbusters, prestige sci-fi, and small-screen horror alike.
Long-simmering rumors finally became official announcements, decades-old franchises got new leads and new timelines, and fans packed into panels for a glimpse of what’s coming to theaters and streaming over the next two years.
Here’s a rundown of the biggest reveals to come out of Comic-Con 2026.
MCU’s Ghost Rider
Credit: Jesse Grant/Getty Images for Disney
Ryan Gosling was confirmed as Johnny Blaze in a new Ghost Rider film directed by Shawn Levy, ending years of speculation about the actor joining the MCU. This film is set to release in 2028.
Black Panther 3 release date reveal
Credit: Michael Buckner/Variety via Getty Images
The same Marvel panel brought news of another long-rumored casting: David Jonsson was announced as the new Black Panther, playing the son of Chadwick Boseman’s T’Challa, in a film directed by Ryan Coogler and set for release on December 15, 2028.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power
Season 3’s trailer teased Sauron’s completion of the One Ring and the outbreak of full-scale war across Middle-earth. New cast additions include Simon Pegg voicing the Balrog, Eddie Marsan as Dwarven royal Thrain, and Andrew Richardson as the future King of Gondor, Anárion. Season 3 premieres November 11.
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Blade Runner 2099
Prime Video debuted the first trailer for its Blade Runner series, set decades after Blade Runner 2049. Michelle Yeoh stars as Olwen, a replicant confronting the end of her life, opposite Hunter Schafer as a human fugitive on the run from Blade Runners. Ridley Scott executive produces, with Silka Luisa serving as showrunner. The series arrives November 25.
Carrie
Mike Flanagan’s Carrie series got its first trailer, dragging Stephen King’s telekinetic teen into the smartphone era ahead of an October 7 premiere on Prime Video. The eight-episode miniseries follows Carrie White as she endures bullying at school and abuse at home from her fanatically religious mother, Margaret — all while discovering she has telekinetic powers.
Summer H. Howell leads the new cast as Carrie White, alongside Samantha Sloyan as Margaret, Siena Agudong as Sue Snell, and Matthew Lillard as Principal Grayle, with Alison Thornton, Thalia Dudek, Amber Midthunder, Josie Totah, Arthur Conti, and Joel Oulette rounding out the ensemble.
Yaga
AMC+ and Crave released a teaser for this Canadian supernatural mystery series, starring Noah Reid as a detective investigating the disappearance of Henry Park, an heir to a commercial fishery, in a small coastal town. Park is played by Hudson Williams, known to fans of the queer romance series Heated Rivalry.
The cast also includes Carrie-Anne Moss and Clark Backo, with the series created by Kat Sandler based on her own 2019 stage play of the same name.
Neuromancer
Apple TV entered the fray outside Marvel and Prime’s orbit, releasing its first trailer for an adaptation of William Gibson’s cyberpunk classic, starring Callum Turner as hacker Case.
This article will continue to be updated….
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Entertainment
Apple TV gives cyberpunk fans their first look at Neuromancer
It must feel good to be a fan of the cyberpunk genre.
Apple TV has released the first trailer for its adaptation of William Gibson’s 1984 sci-fi classic Neuromancer — one of the foundational texts of the cyberpunk genre. The novel follows Case, a washed-up cyberspace hacker recruited by a mysterious ex-soldier to pull off a high-stakes heist alongside a razor-fingered assassin.
Set against a neon-drenched, futuristic Japan, the trailer leans noticeably brighter than fans of the novel’s noir-soaked prose might expect. Callum Turner (Eternity, One Night Only) headlines as Case, joined by Briana Middleton (The History of Sound) as the “razorgirl” Molly Millions and Mark Strong (The Penguin, Dune: Prophecy) as the enigmatic Armitage. The ensemble also includes Clémence Poésy, Peter Sarsgaard, Emma Laird, Max Irons, André De Shields, Isabella Pappas, and Dane DeHaan.
The ten-episode series is set to premiere on Apple TV on Jan. 22, 2027.
Comic-Con 2026: All the movie and TV announcements you need to know
Potential World Cup manipulation on Polymarket flagged by sports advisory group
