Vardan Khachatryan
Polymarket in Michigan
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 Michigan
- 1 on record, listed in the timeline
- Federal appeals court
- Sixth Circuit: ruled against Kalshi on September 25, 2026
- Last change
- September 25, 2026
Each entry on this page links the ruling or report it rests on. Nothing here is legal advice.
Open Polymarket USWhy Polymarket is legal in Michigan, for now
Polymarket US is legal in Michigan because it is federally regulated. The CFTC designated its exchange, QCX LLC, on July 9, 2025.
That status is the whole of Polymarket's case. It says only the CFTC can police its contracts, so Michigan's gambling law cannot reach them.
Michigan disagrees about sports. Yet it has not sued Polymarket or won an order against it. Kalshi and Robinhood cannot say the same.
Here is the catch. Polymarket asked a federal judge to shield it from Michigan, and lost twice. Nothing stands between it and enforcement.
What you can trade on Polymarket from Michigan
Polymarket US lists sports, politics, economics, crypto, culture and weather. You must be 18 or over and pass its identity checks.
We found no order or agreement that closes its sports contracts in Michigan. That sets it apart from Kalshi, whose sports are blocked here by court order.
Polymarket publishes no state-by-state list, though. So check what the app offers before you fund an account.
Sports carry the risk. Lions, Pistons or Wolverines positions could close on short notice if Michigan acts, as Robinhood's customers learned in September.
The international site, polymarket.com, is a separate product. It is close-only for Americans, and using a VPN to reach it breaks its terms.
How Polymarket works for Michigan traders
Every 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 crowd's odds. A contract at 60¢ means traders put the chance at about 60%.
Say a Lions contract trades at 60¢. You buy 100 contracts for $60, and Polymarket US charges a taker fee of $1.67.
If the Lions win, you collect $100, a $38.33 profit. If they lose, you are out $61.67.
The fee follows 0.0695 × contracts × price × (1 − price). Makers who post a resting order pay nothing.
You trade against other people, not the house. Our Polymarket fees guide has every rate.
What Michigan has said about Polymarket
Michigan has not sued Polymarket, and we found no cease-and-desist letter to it. Polymarket went to court first.
The state's position is clear from its other cases. Attorney General Dana Nessel says sports event contracts are unlicensed sports betting under the Lawful Sports Betting Act.
Her office defended that view against Polymarket in federal court, and won. The Gaming Control Board has said the same in public.
Henry Williams, the board's director, put it plainly on September 9. “Sports wagering products should only be offered by operators who are licensed, regulated, and held accountable under Michigan law.”
Polymarket is still marketing here. In mid-September its logo appeared on a Detroit water tower, and the city said it would investigate the unpermitted ad.
Polymarket's lawsuit against Michigan, explained
The case is QCX, LLC v. Nessel, No. 1:26-cv-00710, in federal court in western Michigan. QCX is the company behind Polymarket US.
Polymarket filed it on March 4, 2026, one day after Michigan sued Kalshi. It named the attorney general, the Gaming Control Board's chair and other officials.
Its filing warned it was in “imminent and concrete danger” of state action. It asked the court to stop Michigan applying its gambling laws to its contracts.
Judge Paul L. Maloney refused a temporary restraining order on March 10. On June 17 he denied a preliminary injunction too, the same day he ruled against Robinhood.
He found sports contracts are not swaps under federal law. A derivative, he wrote, is rarely linked to “something as mundane as the outcome of the Super Bowl.”
Polymarket appealed to the Sixth Circuit, No. 26-1552. On July 2 its appeal was joined with Robinhood's.
Losing an injunction is not losing the case. It does mean nothing shields Polymarket's sports contracts in Michigan while the appeal runs.
What could change Polymarket's status in Michigan
Three things could. The first is Michigan itself. It could sue, or ask Polymarket for the deal Robinhood signed.
That deal came fast. The state asked, and Robinhood agreed in federal court on September 4 to stop new sports contracts five days later.
The second is the Sixth Circuit. On September 25, 2026, it ruled against Kalshi in its Ohio and Tennessee cases, holding sports contracts are not swaps.
Polymarket's appeal makes the same argument, before the same court. Its published rulings bind later panels there.
The third is the Supreme Court. New Jersey has asked it to settle the question for every state. Our litigation tracker follows each case.
Polymarket in Michigan: timeline
Every change to Polymarket's position in Michigan, newest first. Each entry links the ruling or report behind it.
How Polymarket compares to sports betting in Michigan
Sports betting is legal in Michigan. The Lawful Sports Betting Act passed in December 2019, and online books launched in January 2021.
Each sportsbook partners with one of the three Detroit casinos or one of 12 tribes. They pay an 8.4% state tax on online sports revenue.
They must also turn away anyone under 21. Polymarket US takes traders from 18 and pays no Michigan gaming tax.
That gap is the state's complaint. The product differs too: a sportsbook sets the odds, while on Polymarket another trader takes the other side.
Other prediction market apps in Michigan
Michigan's two biggest moves hit other apps. A state court order blocks Kalshi's sports contracts. Brokers that sell them, such as Coinbase and Webull, lose them too.
Robinhood stopped new sports contracts on September 9 under its deal with the state. DraftKings and FanDuel run licensed sportsbooks here, so their prediction apps skip sports.
Here is where each app we rank stands. For the full picture, see prediction markets in Michigan.
| App | Status in Michigan | More |
|---|---|---|
| Kalshi | Not available for sports contracts | Is Kalshi legal in Michigan? |
| Gemini Predictions | Available, sports included | Gemini Predictions review |
| OG | Available, but not for sports contracts | OG review |
| Interactive Brokers | Available; it lists no sports contracts anywhere | Interactive Brokers review |
| Robinhood | Not available for sports contracts | Is Robinhood legal in Michigan? |
| ProphetX | Available, sports included | ProphetX review |
| Coinbase | Available, but not for sports contracts | Coinbase review |
| Webull | Available, but not for sports contracts | Webull review |
| Novig | Not available | 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 | Not available | Underdog Predict review |
How to use Polymarket in Michigan
Download the Polymarket US app or go to polymarket.us. You sign in with Google or Apple rather than a password.
Then verify your identity. Polymarket US checks your name, date of birth and address, and may ask for a photo ID and selfie.
Fund the account by debit card, bank transfer or wire. Wires have a $1,000 minimum.
Withdrawals are free and go back to the card or bank you funded from. Cards and bank transfers take 3 to 4 business days.
Before you fund it, read our Polymarket review. To weigh it against its main rival, see Kalshi vs Polymarket.