# Is Polymarket Legal in the UK? Kalshi, Polymarket and the Gambling Commission
In Great Britain a prediction market needs a Gambling Commission licence, and neither Kalshi nor Polymarket has one. Northern Ireland has its own law. What each venue's terms say and what the regulators have said.
Canonical URL: https://vultax.com/research/prediction-market-legality/united-kingdom
Author: [Vultax Research Team](https://vultax.com/editorial-policy#who)
Published: 2026-10-30
Last public revision: 2026-10-30
AI-assisted drafting, research and editing. Published by OmniOS OÜ. [How we use AI](https://vultax.com/editorial-policy#ai)
Published research snapshots and calculations; these exports do not contain current quotes or live account data. Observation windows and populations are stated in the source captions and methodology. Missing metadata is unknown, not zero. Describes UK legislation, regulator statements, parliamentary answers and venue documents as read on 30 October 2026. Great Britain and Northern Ireland have different gambling laws. Nothing here is legal or financial advice.
## Key figures
- Gambling Commission licences for Kalshi or Polymarket: 0 — No result on the Commission's public register for Kalshi, Polymarket, their operating companies or Polymarket US, searched 30 October 2026
- Kalshi event contracts: Restricted — The United Kingdom is on the list in section VI of Kalshi's member agreement, version of 1 October 2026
- polymarket.com: Close-only — On the website and the API in the developer documentation; the help page calls the UK completely restricted
- FCA warnings naming either venue: None found — FCA site search, 30 October 2026
## The short answer
In Great Britain, a prediction market that takes bets on sports, politics or other non-financial events needs a licence from the Gambling Commission, and neither Kalshi nor Polymarket has one. The government said so in February 2026, and the Commission told unlicensed operators to stop targeting or transacting with people in Great Britain.
The venues' own documents point the same way. Kalshi's member agreement lists the United Kingdom among the places where trading its event contracts is restricted. Polymarket's developer documentation makes polymarket.com close-only for the UK, and its help page calls the UK completely restricted. Polymarket US is built for US residents.
Great Britain is not the whole United Kingdom. The Gambling Act 2005 and the Commission's licensing cover England, Wales and Scotland; Northern Ireland has its own, older gambling law and no online licensing regime.
## Kalshi, Polymarket US and polymarket.com in the UK
Read 30 October 2026. A row says what a regulator's record or a venue's own document states.
| Product | What applies in the UK | Source and date |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kalshi event contracts | Trading restricted for the whole United Kingdom under Kalshi's own agreement; no Gambling Commission licence | Kalshi member agreement, 1 October 2026 version; Commission register, 30 October 2026 |
| polymarket.com (international) | Close-only on the website and the API in the developer documentation, completely restricted in the help page; no Commission licence | Polymarket documentation and help page, read 30 October 2026 |
| Polymarket US (QCX exchange) | Built for US residents; no UK licence, warning or action found | Polymarket US documentation; Commission register and FCA search, 30 October 2026 |
[CSV](https://vultax.com/research/prediction-market-legality/united-kingdom/data.csv?dataset=venues-table), [JSON](https://vultax.com/research/prediction-market-legality/united-kingdom/data.json?dataset=venues-table)
## Great Britain: a gambling licence
On 4 February 2026 the Gambling Commission wrote that the prediction-market model it has seen appears to be a betting intermediary, which needs a Commission licence to offer gambling in Great Britain. Its message to existing operators was direct: "Current prediction market operators who are not licensed in Great Britain should take steps to ensure they are not targeting or transacting with consumers in Great Britain."
The government has given the same answer in Parliament since. On 16 February a Lords written answer said that "in order to operate in Great Britain, any prediction market would require a licence from the Gambling Commission" and would be classed as a betting intermediary. On 26 October the latest answer said the Department for Culture, Media and Sport is monitoring prediction markets with the Commission and will update if more action is needed.
The Commission's public register, searched on 30 October 2026, has no entry for Kalshi, KalshiEX, Polymarket, Blockratize, Adventure One, QCX or Polymarket US. The licensing route is in use by others: the register shows a pending application for a remote real-event betting licence from IG View Limited, a firm with a prediction-markets trading name.
## Where the FCA comes in
Contracts on financial outcomes can fall within the Financial Conduct Authority's perimeter instead, as spread bets on financial markets do. The FCA's October 2026 feedback statement says binary options remain banned for retail customers, and that it will keep its framework under review as products develop that exploit gambling-like behaviour; it does not mention prediction markets by name.
An FCA site search on 30 October found no Warning List entry for Kalshi or Polymarket. The FCA's diary records a meeting between Polymarket and its chief executive, Nikhil Rathi, on 19 June 2026. A meeting is not an authorisation.
## Northern Ireland
Section 361 of the Gambling Act 2005 extends only two of its sections to Northern Ireland. Gambling there is governed by the Betting, Gaming, Lotteries and Amusements (Northern Ireland) Order 1985, amended by the Assembly in 2022, which has no licensing regime for online gambling.
The Assembly's own researchers described the position in January 2025: "in the absence of specific Northern Ireland-based legislation on online/remote gaming and gambling there is still no additional, Northern Ireland-specific, licensing and regulatory measures". That gap is not a permission. Both venues' documents treat the United Kingdom as a whole, Northern Ireland included.
## What this means if you are in the UK
- Kalshi - Its own agreement restricts trading its event contracts from the UK, and it holds no Gambling Commission licence.
- polymarket.com - Its documents allow at most closing positions from the UK, and the Commission has told unlicensed prediction markets not to transact with people in Great Britain. Polymarket's help page says using a VPN to get around location limits breaks its terms.
- Polymarket US - It is built for US residents and does not describe a UK service.
- Licensed alternatives - Betting on events in Great Britain is lawful with an operator the Commission licenses; the public register lists them.
## Method and limits
The Commission's blog post, its register and office page, the Gambling Act, the Northern Ireland Order, the Assembly research paper, the parliamentary answers, the FCA's statement, site search and diary, and the venue documents were read on 30 October 2026. The Commission's own site search did not work, so a later Commission statement may be missing. Vultax did not test access from the UK.
This page describes legal documents; it is not legal advice. Challenge a line at research@vultax.com.
## Questions
### Is Polymarket legal in the UK?
In Great Britain a prediction market needs a Gambling Commission licence, and Polymarket does not have one; the Commission has told unlicensed operators not to transact with people in Great Britain. polymarket.com's own documents restrict the UK. Northern Ireland has separate law with no online licensing.
### Is Kalshi legal in the UK?
Kalshi's member agreement restricts trading its event contracts from the United Kingdom, and it holds no Gambling Commission licence.
### Who regulates prediction markets in the UK?
The Gambling Commission, for markets on sports, politics and other non-financial events in Great Britain, which it treats as betting intermediaries. Contracts on financial outcomes can fall to the Financial Conduct Authority.
### Is Northern Ireland covered by the Gambling Commission?
Only in part. Almost all of the Gambling Act 2005 extends to Great Britain only; Northern Ireland is governed by its own 1985 Order, which has no online gambling licensing.
## Sources and methodology
- [Gambling Commission: Prediction markets, here's what you need to know (4 Feb 2026)](https://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/blog/post/prediction-markets-heres-what-you-need-to-know) — Prediction markets of this kind appear to be betting intermediaries needing a Commission licence; financial spread betting is for the FCA
- [Gambling Commission public register, business search (searched 30 Oct 2026)](https://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/public-register/businesses/results?business-search=Kalshi) — No result for Kalshi, KalshiEX, Polymarket, Blockratize, QCX, Polymarket US or Adventure One; control searches returned licensed operators
- [Gambling Commission: our offices (read 30 Oct 2026)](https://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/contact-us/page/our-offices) — 4th Floor, Victoria Square House, Birmingham B2 4BP
- [Gambling Act 2005, section 361 (extent)](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2005/19/section/361) — Only sections 43 and 340 extend to Northern Ireland; the rest extends to England and Wales and to Scotland
- [Betting, Gaming, Lotteries and Amusements (Northern Ireland) Order 1985](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/nisi/1985/1204/contents) — Northern Ireland's gambling law, amended by an Assembly Act of 2022
- [Northern Ireland Assembly Research and Information Service: research paper 04/25 on gambling regulation (9 Jan 2025)](https://www.niassembly.gov.uk/globalassets/documents/raise/publications/2022-2027/2025/communities/0425.pdf) — A research paper, not law; describes the absence of Northern Ireland remote-gambling licensing
- [House of Lords written answer HL14169 (16 Feb 2026)](https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2026-02-02/HL14169) — Any prediction market operating in Great Britain would need a Gambling Commission licence and would be a betting intermediary
- [House of Lords written answer HL3907 (26 Oct 2026)](https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2026-10-12/HL3907) — DCMS and the Gambling Commission are monitoring prediction markets; no new action announced
- [Financial Conduct Authority: FS26/3, Expanding consumer access to investments (October 2026)](https://www.fca.org.uk/publication/feedback/fs26-3.pdf) — Paragraphs 2.17 and 2.18: binary options remain banned for retail customers; gambling-like products kept under review
- [Financial Conduct Authority: perimeter report](https://www.fca.org.uk/publications/corporate-documents/fca-perimeter-report) — Contracts on non-financial events fall to gambling regulation; financial contracts can be within the FCA's perimeter
- [Kalshi: Member Agreement, Section VI, version of 1 Oct 2026 (read 30 Oct 2026)](https://kalshi-public-docs.s3.amazonaws.com/regulatory/agreement/kalshi_member_agreement.pdf) — Kalshi's public regulatory copy; 55 places where trading event contracts is restricted, a list last changed on 22 June 2026. The venue's own policy, not a finding about local law
- [Polymarket documentation: geographic restrictions (read 30 Oct 2026)](https://docs.polymarket.com/api-reference/geoblock) — Blocked, close-only and website-only close-only lists for polymarket.com; does not cover Polymarket US
- [Polymarket Help Center: geographic restrictions (read 30 Oct 2026)](https://help.polymarket.com/en/articles/13364163-geographic-restrictions) — Updated 29 Oct 2026; headed 40 countries completely restricted but listing 41 codes, and differs from the developer documentation
- [Polymarket US documentation: what is Polymarket US (read 30 Oct 2026)](https://docs.polymarket.us/getting-started/what-is-polymarket-us) — Describes Polymarket US as a CFTC-regulated exchange built for US residents