Press note
Is Polymarket Legal in the US? Where Prediction Markets Stand in 2026
3Supreme Court petitions on sports event contracts
New Jersey (No. 26-299, filed 2 September 2026), Robinhood against Nevada (26-338, 10 September) and Crypto.com against Nevada (26-344, 11 September); the responses are now due on 9, 13 and 16 November, and the Court's October Term opened on 5 October
Polymarket US runs on a CFTC-registered exchange and names no restricted state; polymarket.com is closed to all Americans. Two of three federal appeals courts have sided with the states, and three Supreme Court petitions are pending. State by state, with California and Texas, to 27 September 2026. Two different exchanges carry the Polymarket name. Polymarket US runs on QCX, a CFTC-designated contract market that Polymarket bought for $112 million in July 2025, and it has been opening to American users since 3 December 2025, sports first. The original international exchange at polymarket.com is the one the CFTC fined $1.4 million in January 2022 for offering event contracts without registration, and it remains closed to U.S. traders; in April 2026 CoinDesk reported that the company was asking the Commission to let Americans back in.
Observed 2022-01 to 2026-09.
Supporting figures
- 2 of 3 — Federal appeals courts that have ruled for the statesThe Ninth Circuit for Nevada on 28 August and the Sixth for Ohio and Tennessee on 25 September 2026; the Third Circuit ruled for Kalshi against New Jersey on 6 April
- None yet — CFTC final rule on event contractsProposed 10 June 2026 with a public-interest test for terrorism, assassination, war, gaming and unlawful activity; comments closed 27 July. None adopted by 25 September
- $1.4M — Polymarket's 2022 CFTC penalty3 January 2022 order against Blockratize, Inc. for offering event contracts without a registered exchange; Polymarket US now runs on the QCX exchange it bought for $112 million in July 2025
Images
Share card, 1200×630 — the headline figure and the title, rendered. Credit Vultax Research.
Reproducing one of the study’s figures instead? Caption it “Chart: Vultax Research”. Higher resolutions and other crops on request.
Links
- The study
- Full text, sources and method
- Markdown edition
- Plain text for quoting and for assistants
- Chart figures (CSV)
- The numbers behind the headline chart
- All datasets (JSON)
- Every published table and chart, with units and sources
- Open the prediction terminal
- Live Polymarket markets, topics and traders in one screen, with Vultax analytics beside every price.
Press contact
Vultax Research — [email protected]
Questions on method, a figure checked before you print it, a chart at another size, or a cut of the data this study does not publish. Say what you are writing and when it runs.
How to cite
Vultax Research, Is Polymarket Legal in the US? Where Prediction Markets Stand in 2026, 2026-10-27, https://vultax.com/research/is-polymarket-legal-in-the-us-2026
Published 2026-09-14, last revised 2026-10-27. Figures are the published study; live screens move. Plain-text version, Use our data