Is Polymarket legal in the US? And Kalshi?

By the Callquake team · Published November 7, 2026 · 5 min read

Last reviewed November 7, 2026. Laws and platform rules change; check the sources linked below.

Short answer. Yes. Both Polymarket and Kalshi are available to US residents through exchanges registered with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The fight in 2026 is not about whether the platforms are legal, but about sports contracts: a few states block them, courts disagree, and the Supreme Court has been asked to settle it. Election, economic and most other markets are available almost everywhere. This page is information, not legal advice; the sources are linked.

Polymarket: two different things

There are two Polymarkets. Polymarket.com is the global, crypto-based platform. It settled with the CFTC in 2022 for offering unregistered event contracts, paid a US$1.4 million penalty and agreed to block US users. It still does: US addresses are geoblocked, VPN use is policed, and trading there from the US is against its rules (Decrypt, Sept. 2025; BeInCrypto).

Polymarket US is the regulated version. In July 2025 Polymarket bought QCEX, which owned a CFTC-registered exchange and clearinghouse, for US$112 million (Finance Magnates). The CFTC amended the exchange's designation in November 2025 (CFTC registry), the app launched in December 2025 with sports first, political and economic markets followed in April 2026, and the waitlist ended in May 2026 (CoinDesk; DeFi Rate; Covers). It requires identity verification, is funded in dollars, and is open to adults 18 and over.

Kalshi: regulated since 2020, in court since 2025

Kalshi has been a CFTC-designated exchange since November 2020. In 2024 it won the right to list election contracts after a federal court overturned the CFTC's ban and the appeals court refused to block the ruling; the CFTC later dropped its appeal (The Block, Oct. 2024; Covers, May 2025).

The trouble started when Kalshi listed sports contracts in 2025. States argued these are sports bets that need a state gambling license; Kalshi argued they are federally regulated “swaps” that states cannot touch. By late 2026 the federal appeals courts are split:

• Third Circuit (New Jersey), April 2026: for Kalshi. Sports contracts on a CFTC exchange are swaps and federal law overrides state gambling law (Skadden).
• Ninth Circuit (Nevada), August 2026, and Sixth Circuit (Ohio, Tennessee), September 2026: against Kalshi. The courts were not persuaded the contracts are swaps, so states may enforce their laws (Holland & Knight; Deadspin).
• Supreme Court: New Jersey asked the justices to take the case in September 2026, backed by 39 states; Kalshi's reply is due in December 2026 and a decision on whether to hear it is expected in early 2027 (amicus brief, docket 26-299).

Two states have gone further: Arizona filed criminal charges in March 2026, which a federal judge permanently blocked in May (DeFi Rate), and Utah filed criminal counts against Kalshi and its founders in October 2026 while the CFTC sued Utah in return (Brownstein).

Where sports contracts are blocked

As of early November 2026, by court order or stipulation (DeFi Rate legal tracker; OddsShopper):

• Nevada: both platforms. Kalshi blocks sports, election and entertainment contracts there under a July 2026 agreement; Polymarket US has been under an injunction since May 2026 (Legal Sports Report; Nevada Gaming Control Board).
• Michigan: sports contracts blocked on Kalshi since September 2026 and on Polymarket US for new trades (Decrypt).
• Washington: Kalshi restricted sports, election and entertainment contracts in August 2026 under a state court order (Covers).
• Massachusetts: a January 2026 injunction against Kalshi's sports contracts is on appeal before the state's highest court; reports conflict on whether the contracts are currently available (Law360).
• Ohio, Tennessee, Utah, Missouri, New York, Connecticut: states have won rulings or sent cease-and-desist letters, but contracts were still reported live in early November 2026 while appeals continue (CBS Sports).

Election and economic contracts are not blocked anywhere except within the broader Nevada and Washington orders. Everywhere else, including New Jersey, Illinois and Arizona where courts sided with the platforms, markets are open.

What the regulator is doing

The CFTC under its current chairman has sided with the exchanges. In January 2026 it withdrew a 2024 proposal that would have banned political and sports contracts; in June 2026 it proposed new rules that allow most sports contracts but bar single-play props, injuries, fights, officiating, youth sports and contracts on terrorism, assassination or war. The rules were not final as of November 2026 (CNBC; Federal Register, June 12, 2026). The agency has also sued several states to stop them from enforcing gambling law against federally regulated exchanges. Congress has bills on both sides; none has passed (Congressional Research Service).

The other regulated venues

Prediction contracts are also offered by CFTC-registered venues run by or for Interactive Brokers (ForecastEx), Crypto.com, Robinhood, CME with FanDuel, DraftKings, Underdog, Novig and, since October 2026, Sporttrade; Coinbase and Webull route orders to Kalshi. PredictIt operates under a CFTC no-action letter with a US$3,500 limit per contract (DeFi Rate; CFTC Letter 25-20). State actions on sports contracts apply to these venues too.

Age, identity and taxes

• Age: 18 on Kalshi and Polymarket US, lower than the 21 most state sportsbooks require.
• Identity: regulated venues verify identity and fund accounts in dollars. The global Polymarket site is crypto-only.
• Taxes: there is no IRS guidance specific to event contracts. Kalshi issues 1099 forms but none reports trading profit, so users calculate it themselves; common approaches are ordinary income, capital gains or gambling income, each with different loss rules. Gains on the global site also involve stablecoin transactions. Ask a tax professional (Keeper, Oct. 2026).

What is still open

• Whether the Supreme Court takes the New Jersey case, and how it rules on sports contracts.
• The CFTC's final rule on which contracts are allowed.
• A November 2026 CFTC interpretation telling exchanges to end state-by-state geoblocking, which collides with the court orders above (DeFi Rate).
• Pending appeals in the Second, Fourth, Seventh, Eighth and Tenth Circuits and in Massachusetts.

Callquake shows odds from both platforms for information only, everywhere, and shows trading links only where that is allowed. Our Kalshi vs Polymarket guide compares the two platforms; this page shows where their prices disagree right now.