Vardan Khachatryan
Polymarket in Connecticut
Contested for sports contracts, with no restriction in force.
- Sports contracts
- Available, but contested
- Other contracts
- Available
- Regulator
- CFTC: offers US trading through Polymarket US (QCX LLC), a CFTC-designated contract market it acquired in 2025
- Rulings and actions in Connecticut
- 1 on record, listed in the timeline
- Legal sports betting
- Since 2021, through three licensed apps, 21 and over
- State order to Polymarket
- September 2026, sports contracts
- Federal appeals court
- Second Circuit: has not ruled on the question
- Last change
- September 11, 2026
Each entry on this page links the ruling or report it rests on. Nothing here is legal advice.
Open Polymarket USWhy Polymarket's status in Connecticut is contested
In the US, Polymarket means Polymarket US. Its orders go to QCX LLC, which the CFTC designated as an exchange on July 9, 2025.
That makes it a federally regulated market, like Kalshi. Connecticut says federal oversight does not cover sports.
In September 2026 the state ordered Polymarket to stop offering sports contracts to residents. It was first on a list of nine apps.
Nothing has come of it in court yet. No judge has ruled on Polymarket in Connecticut, and we found no sign it has left the state.
The international site, polymarket.com, is a different product. It is close-only for Americans, so this page covers Polymarket US.
What you can trade on Polymarket from Connecticut
Polymarket US lists sports, politics, economics, crypto, culture and weather. You sign in with Google or Apple and verify your identity.
Sports is the category under fire. The state's order names “sports event contracts” and any other form of unlicensed online gambling.
College games are a sore point. Connecticut bars its sportsbooks from taking bets on UConn and other in-state college teams, outside tournaments.
The state says prediction markets take those bets anyway.
Politics draws Connecticut money too. Before the August 11 primaries, CT Mirror counted more than $100,000 riding on the state's races across prediction markets.
More than half was on the Democratic primary for governor. Ned Lamont won it and faces Republican Ryan Fazio on November 3.
How Polymarket works for Connecticut traders
Every Polymarket US contract is a yes-or-no question. It pays $1 if the answer is yes and nothing if it is no.
The price is the market's odds. A contract at 60¢ means traders put the chance at about 60%.
Say the Patriots are 60¢ to win on Sunday. You buy 100 contracts for $60. The taker fee is $1.67.
That is 0.0695 × 100 × 0.60 × 0.40, rounded to the nearest cent.
If the Patriots win, you collect $100, a $38.33 profit. If they lose, you are out $61.67.
Orders that rest on the book pay no fee. From October 6, 2026, only makers trading $10 million or more a month earn a rebate.
You trade against other people, not the house. Our Polymarket fees guide has every rate.
What Connecticut has said about Polymarket
Connecticut came to Polymarket late. Its December 2025 orders went to Kalshi, Robinhood and Crypto.com, not Polymarket.
That changed on September 10, 2026. Governor Ned Lamont announced cease-and-desist orders to nine apps, with Polymarket first on the list.
The state called them prediction markets “known to be operating illegally in Connecticut.”
It said they take bets from people under 21 and from people on the state's self-exclusion list.
“Our laws are clear: sports betting may only be offered by legal, licensed sportsbooks,” said Consumer Protection Commissioner Bryan T. Cafferelli.
The state also sent nearly 30 subpoenas. They went to payment firms, sports data providers and Connecticut media outlets, among others.
The court cases that will decide Polymarket's fate in Connecticut
Polymarket and Connecticut have not sued each other. We found no case between them on the federal docket.
Its fate rides on two other cases. The first is Kalshi's. On August 10, 2026, a federal judge in Connecticut refused to block the state's order against Kalshi.
Judge Vernon D. Oliver concluded that Kalshi's sports contracts are not swaps. So federal law does not shield them from state gaming law.
Polymarket US sells similar contracts on a similar federal exchange. That makes the reasoning matter here too.
Kalshi has appealed to the Second Circuit, No. 26-2239. Coinbase, which lost the same day, is appealing too.
The second case is the CFTC's. It sued Connecticut on April 2, 2026, to stop the state applying gambling laws to federal exchanges.
The state has moved to dismiss it. The tribes that run Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun have asked to join on the state's side.
What could change Polymarket's status in Connecticut
Three things could. The first is enforcement. Connecticut could take Polymarket to court, as it did Kalshi on August 26.
The second is the CFTC's case. It asked for a preliminary injunction on September 11, 2026. A win could bar the state from enforcing against federal exchanges.
The third is an appeals court. The Second Circuit has never ruled on the question, and the other circuits are split.
New Jersey has asked the Supreme Court to settle it. Our litigation tracker follows each case.
Polymarket in Connecticut: timeline
Every change to Polymarket's position in Connecticut, newest first. Each entry links the order or filing behind it.
How Polymarket compares to sports betting in Connecticut
Connecticut built its betting market with its two tribes. Deals signed in 2021 gave the Mashantucket Pequot and the Mohegan two of three online licenses.
Those licenses now run through DraftKings, with Foxwoods, and FanDuel, with Mohegan Sun. The Connecticut Lottery holds the third, with Fanatics.
Sportsbooks pay 13.75% of their revenue in tax. They take bets only from adults 21 and over, physically in the state.
Polymarket US has no state license. The CFTC regulates it, and it says it never takes the other side of a trade.
The governor sees no real difference. Lamont says the 2021 law was meant to build a “safe, responsibly regulated market,” “not to open a free-for-all.”
Other prediction market apps in Connecticut
Polymarket shares the September order with eight apps: Coinbase, Crypto.com, Robinhood, ProphetX, Novig, Webull, Gemini and Underdog Predict.
Underdog sued Connecticut on September 15, 2026. Kalshi, ordered back in December 2025, is fighting in two courts.
Here is where each app we rank stands in the state. See whether Kalshi is legal in Connecticut and prediction markets in Connecticut for more.
| App | Status in Connecticut | More |
|---|---|---|
| Kalshi | Contested for sports contracts, with no restriction in force | Is Kalshi legal in Connecticut? |
| Gemini Predictions | Available, sports included | Gemini Predictions review |
| OG | Available, sports included | OG review |
| Interactive Brokers | Available; it lists no sports contracts anywhere | Interactive Brokers review |
| Robinhood | Contested for sports contracts, with no restriction in force | Robinhood review |
| ProphetX | Available, sports included | ProphetX review |
| Coinbase | Available, sports included | Coinbase review |
| Webull | Available, but not for sports contracts | Webull review |
| Novig | Available, sports included | Novig review |
| DraftKings Predictions | Available, but not for sports contracts | DraftKings Predictions review |
| Fanatics Markets | Not available | Fanatics Markets review |
| FanDuel Predicts | Available, but not for sports contracts | FanDuel Predicts review |
| PrizePicks | Available, but not for sports contracts | PrizePicks review |
| Underdog Predict | Available, sports included | Underdog Predict review |
How to use Polymarket in Connecticut
Download the Polymarket US app or go to polymarket.us. Sign in with Google or Apple, then enter your name, date of birth and address.
Most identity checks clear at once. A manual review can take 3 to 5 business days.
Fund the account by debit card, bank transfer or wire. Wires have a $1,000 minimum.
Withdrawals go back to the card or bank you funded from, oldest deposit first.
Read our Polymarket review first. It covers fees, payouts and the lawsuits in other states. Comparing apps? See Kalshi vs Polymarket.