New York sues Polymarket

New York's Attorney General Letitia James and Governor Kathy Hochul announced a lawsuit against Polymarket's domestic branch, seeking a court order stopping it from operating as an unlicensed gambling business in New York state.

Part of a broader crackdown

James has similar lawsuits underway against Kalshi, which launched in July, and sued Coinbase Financial Markets and Gemini Titan in April. New York is one of several states attempting to regulate prediction markets as gambling operations.

Underage betting concerns

Some state lawsuits, including New York's action against Polymarket, argue that prediction markets allow underage betting. Most prediction market users must be over eighteen, but the minimum age for sports betting in many states is twenty-one.

Federal regulator intervenes

The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission has counter-sued some states, alleging it should be the sole regulator for prediction markets and claiming that states' legal actions fall outside their jurisdiction.

Courts split on regulation

A panel from the third US Circuit Court of Appeals sided with the CFTC over New Jersey. However, the ninth Circuit Court of Appeals favored Nevada's case against Kalshi last month, blocking the company's attempt to prevent state regulation.

Polymarket defends its position

Polymarket's Chief Legal Officer Neal Kumar said the company was founded in New York and now has more than three hundred fifty employees there. He stated Polymarket will fight for its users and engage directly with regulators on consumer protection.

“We believe in New York and we're staying here.”