Polymarket has appointed former White House employee Ryan Baasch as the operator’s new VP of Legal & Government Affairs, having previously served under President Donald Trump and the Texas Attorney General’s Office.
“Ryan has worked on both sides of the table, writing scores of government policies from Washington, defending government policies in Texas and challenging them from private practice,” Polymarket said.
“That’s the experience we need as prediction markets enter their next chapter. We’re glad to have him leading our legal and government affairs work.”
For nearly two years, Baasch served as both Special and Deputy Assistant to the President for Economic Policy, as well as Chief of Consumer Protection for the Texas Attorney General’s Office between 2023 and 2024.
Speaking on his new appointment, Baasch said: “It was an honor to serve in the White House with some of the most dedicated public servants in the world – people who come to the office every day and pour their soul into unleashing innovative solutions that will improve the lives of ordinary Americans.
“I’m equally honored to now join another remarkable team unleashing its own innovative solution to an enduring human problem: how to find the truth. Polymarket is a global truth machine – a generational upgrade on traditional media’s ability to accurately inform people about what is happening around them, and what the future likely holds.
“For years I have made it my mission to work where I can fight censorship, and it is exciting now to help build a necessary corollary; an engine promoting truth.”
Prior to bringing on the former White House Economic Policy Assistant, Polymarket appointed Lisa Mantil – a three-decade Goldman Sachs Veteran – as Head of Institutional Growth on September 30.
The move comes as prediction markets increasingly seek to deepen institutional liquidity, with Mantil joining to help attract Wall Street liquidity and expand the operator’s institutional business.
Polymarket unveiled new consumer protections and anti-addiction measures to its platform on October 1, where users can set deposit limits and place themselves on a voluntary ‘exclusion list’
