Is Polymarket legal in the US? Polymarket US vs Polymarket.com, fees and state actions
By Alexander Burnett (editor) Last updated Data read by our script
How we got this
How: Read by our script on 15 October 2026 from Polymarket's own help, fee and legal pages, the CFTC's records and official state and court pages; a claim is shown only if its exact words are in the page text we saved. How we checkHow we make moneyCorrections
There are two Polymarkets. Polymarket US is a CFTC-designated exchange for US residents. Polymarket.com, the original international site, says trading is blocked in the US and that UK users can only close positions. On 15 October 2026, Polymarket US's pages we read listed no US states it leaves out; Connecticut, Illinois, Missouri, Nevada, New York, Rhode Island and Wisconsin (a court order in Nevada) have acted against it.
Polymarket US
What it is and how it works
- CFTC designated contract market (QCX LLC, trading as Polymarket US), designated 9 Jul 2025
Organization: QCX LLC d/b/a Polymarket US … Status: Designated … Date: 2025-07-09
- Event contracts are regulated event-based derivatives, not securities
Polymarket US event contracts are regulated event-based derivatives. They reflect outcomes of real-world events and are not securities.
- Sports, politics, crypto, weather, tech, culture and economics
Home Sports Politics Crypto Weather Tech Culture Econ
Fees
- Taker fee = 0.0695 × contracts × price × (1 − price): at most about 1.74 cents a contract at 50¢. Makers get a rebate (−0.0125)
Fee = Θ × C × p × (1 - p) … Taker Fee 0.0695 $1.74 … Maker Rebate -0.0125
Deposits and withdrawals
- Debit card, bank transfer (ACH), Apple Pay (iPhone), PayPal, Venmo, USDC (iPhone, where available), wire
You can fund your Polymarket account in the app using: Debit card Bank transfer (ACH) Apple Pay (iPhone) PayPal Venmo USDC (iPhone, where available) Wire transfer
- Wire: $5,000 minimum. Debit card and ACH: $50,000 a day maximum
Debit Card $50,000 3-4 business days … Bank Transfer (ACH) $50,000 3-4 business days … Wire Transfer $5,000 minimum, no max
- Back to the same method you deposited with, oldest deposit first
All withdrawals must return to the same payment method used for deposit. … Withdrawals are processed in the order deposits were made
- Deposits must clear first: 3–4 business days for card and ACH, 1 business day for wire
Debit Card 3-4 business days Funds must fully clear before withdrawal … Wire Transfer 1 business day
- A single market buy is capped at $1,000,000
a single market buy is limited to $1,000,000
Polymarket (international): not for US or UK traders
The international site is a separate, offshore exchange that settles in USDC. We name its pages as text, not links.
Fees
- Takers pay fee rate × shares × price × (1 − price); rate 0.04–0.07 by category; makers pay nothing
fee = C × feeRate × p × (1 - p) … Makers are never charged fees. Only takers pay fees.
- No Polymarket fee to deposit or withdraw USDC
There are also no Polymarket fees to deposit or withdraw USDC
Who can sign up
- Trading blocked in the US; US users are sent to Polymarket US
Trading is blocked in the United States on polymarket.com.
- UK: close-only. UK users can close existing positions but cannot open new ones
Users can close existing positions but cannot open new ones, on both the frontend and the API. … United Kingdom GB
Where Polymarket is restricted: state and court actions
Polymarket's own pages we read list no US states it leaves out. These are the actions we read on official state, court and regulator pages. A lawsuit or a cease-and-desist letter is the state's claim, which Polymarket disputes; a court order is binding until it is changed.
Connecticut
- Cease-and-desist Connecticut cease-and-desist orders to nine platforms, including Polymarket, Crypto.com, Robinhood, ProphetX and Novig
issued nine cease-and-desist orders to companies illegally operating prediction markets in the state … Polymarket Coinbase Crypto.com Robinhood ProphetX Novig
Illinois
- Cease-and-desist Illinois Gaming Board cease-and-desist letters: Kalshi, Crypto.com and Robinhood (1 Apr 2025), Polymarket (27 Jan 2026)
Polymarket (01/27/2026) Crypto.com (04/01/2025) KalshiEX LLC d/b/a Kalshi (04/01/2025) Robinhood (04/01/2025)
Missouri
- Cease-and-desist Missouri Attorney General cease-and-desist letters on sports contracts (date not shown in the page text we saved)
General Hanaway calls on Polymarket, Kalshi, Crypto.com, Novig, Underdog, and Robinhood to comply with Missouri law without delay and to cease and desist from offering sports event contracts to Missourians
Nevada
- Court order Nevada state court injunction against Polymarket (29 May 2026)
May 29, 2026 State court enjoins Polymarket from offering prohibited event contracts in Nevada
New York
- Lawsuit New York lawsuit against Polymarket US (24 Sep 2026)
September 24, 2026 … announced a lawsuit against QCX LLC d/b/a Polymarket US (Polymarket)
Rhode Island
- Lawsuit Rhode Island's suit against Kalshi and Polymarket US (QCX LLC) in state court (21 May 2026), since moved to federal court. Read in the CFTC's court filing, because the Attorney General's own page refused our checker.
the State filed an enforcement action in Providence Superior Court against Kalshi and QCX, LLC … Rhode Island v. KalshiEX LLC, C.A. No. PC-2026-02753 (Super. Ct. May 21, 2026)
Wisconsin
- Lawsuit Wisconsin Department of Justice lawsuits in Dane County against Kalshi, Robinhood, Coinbase, Polymarket and Crypto.com over sports contracts (23 Apr 2026)
April 23, 2026 … announced that it is suing Kalshi, Robinhood, Coinbase, Polymarket, Crypto.com, and their affiliates
7 US states (Connecticut, Illinois, Missouri, Nevada, New York, Rhode Island and Wisconsin) have taken action against Polymarket US, according to TradingLookup's Prediction Market Checker (October 2026).
The federal picture
- CFTC proposal CFTC proposed rule (9 Oct 2026) to define event contracts, including sports, as swaps
October 09, 2026 … published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that proposes providing additional market clarity by expressly further defining the term "swap" to include event contracts, including those based on sports, politics, cultural, and weather-related events
- Federal lawsuit The US government and the CFTC have sued six states (Arizona, Connecticut, Illinois, Minnesota, New York, Wisconsin) to stop them enforcing state law against CFTC-regulated exchanges (filing dated 28 May 2026).
the United States and the CFTC have filed suit against six States … United States v. Arizona … United States v. Connecticut … United States v. Illinois … United States v. Minnesota … United States v. New York … United States v. Wisconsin
Compare
- Kalshi vs Polymarket: fees, payments, markets and state actions side by side
- Kalshi: the same facts for Kalshi
- Prediction Market Checker: every platform in every state, including Robinhood and Crypto.com
Cite this: TradingLookup (2026). Prediction Market Checker, v0.1.0, data as of 15 October 2026. https://tradinglookup.com/prediction-markets/polymarket/. Licence: CC BY 4.0.