Vardan Khachatryan
Polymarket in Tennessee
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 Tennessee
- 1 on record, listed in the timeline
- State order to stop
- Sports Wagering Council, January 9, 2026
- Court challenge by Polymarket
- None in Tennessee
- Court order in force
- None
- Federal appeals court
- Sixth Circuit: ruled against Kalshi on September 25, 2026
- Last change
- October 9, 2026
Each entry on this page links the ruling or report it rests on. Nothing here is legal advice.
Open Polymarket USWhy Polymarket's sports contracts are contested in Tennessee
Polymarket US is a federally regulated exchange. The CFTC designated its operator, QCX LLC, as a contract market on July 9, 2025.
It reopened to Americans late in 2025. Within weeks, Tennessee sent it the first state cease-and-desist letter of its US comeback.
Kalshi got the same letter and went to federal court. Polymarket did not. So nothing shields Polymarket if Tennessee moves to enforce its order.
That order covers sports contracts. Polymarket's federal registration still covers its other markets, and Tennessee has not challenged those.
No court has enforced the order yet. Polymarket's app listing still names only Nevada as closed, so we count Tennessee as contested, not closed.
What you can trade on Polymarket from Tennessee
Sports are the problem. Tennessee has ordered Polymarket to stop its sports contracts for Tennessee customers, from the Titans to the Vols.
Other categories were not named in the order. Politics, economics, crypto, culture and weather markets fall outside it.
Polymarket has not said publicly how it responded. Its App Store listing names only Nevada as closed, so check what the app offers before you fund.
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 Tennessee 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 the Yes side of a Tennessee governor contract trades at 60¢. You buy 100 contracts for $60, and Polymarket US charges a $1.67 taker fee.
If Yes wins, you collect $100, a $38.33 profit. If it loses, you are out $61.67.
A Titans contract would cost the same, but Tennessee has ordered those stopped. The fee is 0.0695 × contracts × price × (1 − price). Our Polymarket fees guide has every rate.
What Tennessee has said about Polymarket
Tennessee's Sports Wagering Council sent the letter on January 9, 2026. It went to Polymarket, Kalshi and Crypto.com's exchange.
It told each to stop sports contracts for Tennessee customers, void open ones and refund deposits by January 31.
Executive Director Mary Beth Thomas called the contracts “an immediate and significant threat to the public interest of Tennessee.”
The council warned of civil penalties of up to $25,000 per violation, and referrals for aggravated gambling promotion, a felony.
Its view is not new. In April 2025, the council asked the CFTC not to allow sports event contracts in Tennessee at all.
After the September 25 ruling, Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti spoke for the state. “Sports wagering is heavily regulated because it can do a lot of harm,” he said.
Why Polymarket has no court shield in Tennessee
Kalshi sued Tennessee's officials and won a preliminary injunction on February 19, 2026. That order protected Kalshi alone.
Polymarket has sued other states, from Massachusetts to Michigan. It has not sued Tennessee, and we found no deal between them.
Its closest test came in Michigan, also in the Sixth Circuit. In June, a federal judge there refused Polymarket an injunction against the state's gambling law.
Then, on September 25, 2026, the Sixth Circuit ruled on Kalshi's Tennessee case. It held sports contracts are not swaps, and vacated Kalshi's injunction. Kalshi has asked the full court to rehear it.
That ruling binds every federal court in Tennessee, unless the full court rehears it. A Polymarket suit here would now start from a losing precedent.
What could change Polymarket's status in Tennessee
Enforcement is the near-term risk. The council has threatened penalties and criminal referrals, and no court stands in the way.
The council does follow through. In 2025 it fined more than a dozen offshore sportsbooks $50,000 each for ignoring its cease-and-desist letters.
Polymarket's Michigan appeal could matter. It sits before the same Sixth Circuit, joined with Robinhood's, and faces the September 25 precedent.
The last word may come from the Supreme Court. Three petitions, from New Jersey, Robinhood and Crypto.com's exchange, ask it to decide whether states can regulate sports contracts.
A ruling there would settle the question for Tennessee too. Our litigation tracker follows each case.
Polymarket in Tennessee: timeline
Every change to Polymarket's position in Tennessee, newest first. Each entry links the ruling or report behind it.
How Polymarket compares to sports betting in Tennessee
Sports betting is legal in Tennessee, but only online. Betting began in November 2020, and 10 sportsbooks were live at the end of 2025.
Tennessee taxes them on every dollar wagered, 1.85%, a model no other state uses. Bettors wagered $5.87 billion in 2025.
Sportsbooks must also turn away anyone under 21 or outside the state. Polymarket US takes traders from 18 and holds no Tennessee license.
That is the council's case in one line. On a sportsbook, the house sets the odds. On Polymarket, another trader takes the other side.
Other prediction market apps in Tennessee
Kalshi still trades sports here under a federal injunction the Sixth Circuit has vacated. Its rehearing petition keeps that injunction in force for now. Our page on whether Kalshi is legal in Tennessee explains what comes next.
Brokers such as Robinhood, Coinbase and Webull sell Kalshi's contracts, so they follow Kalshi's position. DraftKings and FanDuel run sportsbooks here, so their prediction apps skip sports.
Here is where each app we rank stands. For the full picture, see prediction markets in Tennessee.
| App | Status in Tennessee | More |
|---|---|---|
| Kalshi | Contested for sports contracts, with no restriction in force | Is Kalshi legal in Tennessee? |
| 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 | Available, sports included | Robinhood review |
| ProphetX | Available, sports included | ProphetX review |
| Coinbase | Available, sports included | Coinbase review |
| Webull | Available, sports included | 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 Tennessee
Download the Polymarket US app or go to polymarket.us. You sign in with Google or Apple, then verify your name, date of birth and address.
Fund the account by debit card, bank transfer, PayPal, Venmo or wire. Wires have a $5,000 minimum. On iPhone, Apple Pay works too, and so does USDC where available.
Withdrawals are free and go back to the method 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.