{ "schemaVersion": "vultax-public-research-data-v1", "articleUrl": "https://vultax.com/research/prediction-market-legality/united-kingdom", "datasets": [ { "title": "Kalshi, Polymarket US and polymarket.com in the UK", "columns": [ { "name": "Product", "unit": null }, { "name": "What applies in the UK", "unit": null }, { "name": "Source and date", "unit": null } ], "rows": [ [ "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" ] ], "measurementContext": "Read 30 October 2026. A row says what a regulator's record or a venue's own document states.", "sources": [ { "label": "Gambling Commission: Prediction markets, here's what you need to know (4 Feb 2026)", "url": "https://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/blog/post/prediction-markets-heres-what-you-need-to-know", "note": "Prediction markets of this kind appear to be betting intermediaries needing a Commission licence; financial spread betting is for the FCA" }, { "label": "Gambling Commission public register, business search (searched 30 Oct 2026)", "url": "https://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/public-register/businesses/results?business-search=Kalshi", "note": "No result for Kalshi, KalshiEX, Polymarket, Blockratize, QCX, Polymarket US or Adventure One; control searches returned licensed operators" }, { "label": "Gambling Commission: our offices (read 30 Oct 2026)", "url": "https://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/contact-us/page/our-offices", "note": "4th Floor, Victoria Square House, Birmingham B2 4BP" }, { "label": "Gambling Act 2005, section 361 (extent)", "url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2005/19/section/361", "note": "Only sections 43 and 340 extend to Northern Ireland; the rest extends to England and Wales and to Scotland" }, { "label": "Betting, Gaming, Lotteries and Amusements (Northern Ireland) Order 1985", "url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/nisi/1985/1204/contents", "note": "Northern Ireland's gambling law, amended by an Assembly Act of 2022" }, { "label": "Northern Ireland Assembly Research and Information Service: research paper 04/25 on gambling regulation (9 Jan 2025)", "url": "https://www.niassembly.gov.uk/globalassets/documents/raise/publications/2022-2027/2025/communities/0425.pdf", "note": "A research paper, not law; describes the absence of Northern Ireland remote-gambling licensing" }, { "label": "House of Lords written answer HL14169 (16 Feb 2026)", "url": "https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2026-02-02/HL14169", "note": "Any prediction market operating in Great Britain would need a Gambling Commission licence and would be a betting intermediary" }, { "label": "House of Lords written answer HL3907 (26 Oct 2026)", "url": "https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2026-10-12/HL3907", "note": "DCMS and the Gambling Commission are monitoring prediction markets; no new action announced" }, { "label": "Financial Conduct Authority: FS26/3, Expanding consumer access to investments (October 2026)", "url": "https://www.fca.org.uk/publication/feedback/fs26-3.pdf", "note": "Paragraphs 2.17 and 2.18: binary options remain banned for retail customers; gambling-like products kept under review" }, { "label": "Financial Conduct Authority: perimeter report", "url": "https://www.fca.org.uk/publications/corporate-documents/fca-perimeter-report", "note": "Contracts on non-financial events fall to gambling regulation; financial contracts can be within the FCA's perimeter" }, { "label": "Kalshi: Member Agreement, Section VI, version of 1 Oct 2026 (read 30 Oct 2026)", "url": "https://kalshi-public-docs.s3.amazonaws.com/regulatory/agreement/kalshi_member_agreement.pdf", "note": "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" }, { "label": "Polymarket documentation: geographic restrictions (read 30 Oct 2026)", "url": "https://docs.polymarket.com/api-reference/geoblock", "note": "Blocked, close-only and website-only close-only lists for polymarket.com; does not cover Polymarket US" }, { "label": "Polymarket Help Center: geographic restrictions (read 30 Oct 2026)", "url": "https://help.polymarket.com/en/articles/13364163-geographic-restrictions", "note": "Updated 29 Oct 2026; headed 40 countries completely restricted but listing 41 codes, and differs from the developer documentation" }, { "label": "Polymarket US documentation: what is Polymarket US (read 30 Oct 2026)", "url": "https://docs.polymarket.us/getting-started/what-is-polymarket-us", "note": "Describes Polymarket US as a CFTC-regulated exchange built for US residents" } ], "measurement": { "kind": null, "temporalCoverage": null, "population": null, "methodology": null }, "id": "venues-table", "kind": "published-table", "description": "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.", "articleUrl": "https://vultax.com/research/prediction-market-legality/united-kingdom", "sectionUrl": "https://vultax.com/research/prediction-market-legality/united-kingdom#venues", "publishedAt": "2026-10-30", "modifiedAt": "2026-10-30", "version": "c634d776318df8f75738291d858f74a601b11fcce6c08eaa8f024e309ebb2f68", "isLive": false, "limitations": "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.", "downloads": { "json": "https://vultax.com/research/prediction-market-legality/united-kingdom/data.json?dataset=venues-table", "csv": "https://vultax.com/research/prediction-market-legality/united-kingdom/data.csv?dataset=venues-table" } } ] }