Polymarket barred from Nevada over licensing dispute

Polymarket faces a 14-day operational ban in Nevada after a court found the platform is not licensed to accept wagers under state law, raising compliance questions for prediction market operators.

Judge Jason D. Woodbury granted a temporary restraining order sought by the Nevada Gaming Control Board, prohibiting Polymarket from offering event contracts in the state for an initial two-week period. The regulator sued Blockratize Inc., the company behind Polymarket, on January 15, arguing that the platform’s event contracts function as wagers and therefore fall under Nevada’s gambling laws.

In the order, the court said the regulator is “reasonably likely to prevail on the merits of the underlying case.” Woodbury also rejected the claim that the Commodity Exchange Act places Polymarket’s contracts solely under the jurisdiction of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, concluding that federal law does not preclude state enforcement.

“The record at this early stage in proceedings indicates Polymarket offers ‘event-based contracts’ that relate to sporting and other events, including college basketball games, college and professional football games and elections,” the ruling says. Under Nevada law, that conduct constitutes the acceptance of “wagers,” and Polymarket is not licensed to offer sports betting in the state, the order says.

The court cited potential harm to Nevada’s gaming framework if the platform were allowed to continue operating. According to the order, the risk to the state’s regulatory system “exacerbates with each day that Polymarket operates in Nevada outside the authority of the board.”

“A day means more consumers,” the order says. “More consumers means more transactions. More transactions means more potential harm to the board. As such, every day matters in this case in a literal sense.”

The temporary prohibition covers a period that includes the Super Bowl. While Polymarket’s US app, launched in December, has featured limited sports markets, it currently does not list NFL-related event contracts. Its international platform includes extensive Super Bowl offerings, but is accessible to US users only through a VPN.

Polymarket has indicated to the court that it expects to file a “comprehensive opposition." The case is scheduled to proceed to a preliminary injunction hearing on February 11. Gaming attorney Dan Wallach said Polymarket “appears” to have complied with the court order by removing its offerings in Nevada.

Nevada’s action aligns with decisions reached by regulators in Massachusetts, Tennessee, Connecticut, Arizona, Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey, Montana, and Ohio, which have taken the position that sports-related event contracts simulate sports betting.

The lawsuit is the first brought against Polymarket since it formally returned to the US market in early December, after previously being barred from operating domestically under a settlement with the Biden administration.

The ruling also follows recent litigation involving Kalshi, Polymarket’s primary competitor. In November, a judge reversed an earlier preliminary decision and ruled that Nevada regulators can enforce a cease-and-desist order against Kalshi over sports event contracts. Kalshi has appealed that decision to the Ninth Circuit, and enforcement has been paused while the appeal proceeds.