Gamblers on the betting site Polymarket are blasting the prediction platform after it refused to pay out bets the United States would 'invade' Venezuela.

The refusal to pay up comes despite a US military operation last weekend capturing Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and first lady Cilia Flores that saw them both transported them to the United States.

Polymarket, the world's largest online prediction market, ruled the operation did not meet its definition of an invasion, triggering outrage from users who had wagered that Washington would deploy troops into the oil-rich nation.

The disputed market asked whether the US would 'invade Venezuela' by specific dates. 

When US special forces captured Venezuelan ruling couple, many users believed the bet had clearly resolved. 

But Polymarket determined that the mission which resulted in the seizure of Maduro and his wife was a 'snatch-and-extract' operation and did not on its own qualify as an invasion.

The platform defined an invasion as 'US military operations intended to establish control.' 

Polymarket added that President Donald Trump's statement that the United States would 'run' Venezuela during negotiations also did not meet the threshold for an invasion. 

Polymarket users erupted after the platform ruled the seizure of Venezuela's president by the US did not qualify as an 'invasion'

Gamblers accused the crypto-based platform of redefining reality to avoid paying out losing wagers. Some have won tens of thousands of dollars from predictive bets, see above

The decision has fueled accusations the company is redefining outcomes to deny payouts.

The ruling comes as Maduro faces federal charges in New York.

The disputed wager in question asked: 'Will the US invade Venezuela by…?' and offered bettors a range of dates. 

When US special forces captured Venezuelan ruling couple, many users believed the bet had clearly resolved but after being provided with an explanation as to why their claims were denied Polymarket's user base was seething. 

'So it's not an invasion because they did it quickly and not many people died?' one bettor wrote on Polymarket's site.

Another called the platform 'polyscam.'

Others wrote sarcastically that US forces must have used a 'teleportation device' to extract Venezuela's leadership without invading the country.

'Polymarket has descended into sheer arbitrariness,' one user fumed. 

Reports of explosions in Caracas began spilling in around 1am, just a few hours after the mystery trader doubled down their bets 

Maduro is seen being walked by DEA agents to face federal charges in New York last week

'Words are redefined at will, detached from any recognized meaning, and facts are simply ignored,' the person wrote.