Vardan KhachatryanPrediction markets in Rhode Island
All 15 apps we rank are open here, and 14 offer sports contracts.
- Apps restricted or contested
- Kalshi, Polymarket US
- Rulings and actions in Rhode Island
- 3 on record, listed in the timeline
- Legal sports betting
- State lottery only; legal since 2018, online since 2019
- Minimum age
- 18 on most apps, 21 on three
- Key case
- KalshiEX LLC v. Furcolo, No. 1:26-cv-00327 (consolidated)
- Federal appeals court
- First Circuit: has not ruled on the question
- Last change
- August 3, 2026
Each entry on this page links the ruling or report it rests on. Nothing here is legal advice.
Why prediction markets are legal in Rhode Island, for now
Prediction market apps sell event contracts: yes-or-no questions that pay $1 if the answer is yes. The CFTC regulates the exchanges that list them.
The apps say federal oversight overrides state gambling law. Rhode Island disagrees, at least for sports.
Here, only the state lottery may take sports bets. So the state says any app selling sports contracts is breaking the law.
It has sued two of them, Polymarket US and Kalshi. But it agreed in court to hold off while a federal judge decides.
So nothing stops residents from trading today. Here is who offers what, and what could change.
Which prediction market apps work in Rhode Island
Every app we rank accepts Rhode Island residents. All but one offer sports contracts. Interactive Brokers lists none anywhere.
The sportsbook brands are here too. Rhode Island licenses no private sportsbooks, so DraftKings, FanDuel and Fanatics sell sports contracts instead.
That makes Rhode Island unusual. In neighboring Massachusetts and Connecticut, those same brands keep sports out of their prediction apps.
Only Polymarket and Kalshi face the state's lawsuit. Our page on whether Polymarket is legal in Rhode Island covers its side of the case.
Age rules differ. Most apps take traders from 18. Novig, Fanatics Markets and Interactive Brokers require 21.
The table lists each app in our ranking order, with its status here and a link to our review.
| App | Status in Rhode Island | More |
|---|---|---|
| Kalshi | Contested for sports contracts, with no restriction in force | Is Kalshi legal in Rhode Island? |
| Gemini Predictions | Available, sports included | Gemini Predictions review |
| Polymarket US | Contested for sports contracts, with no restriction in force | Is Polymarket legal in Rhode Island? |
| 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, sports included | DraftKings Predictions review |
| Fanatics Markets | Available, sports included | Fanatics Markets review |
| FanDuel Predicts | Available, sports included | FanDuel Predicts review |
| PrizePicks | Available, sports included | PrizePicks review |
| Underdog Predict | Available, sports included | Underdog Predict review |
How a prediction market trade works
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 Patriots are 60¢ to win on Sunday on Kalshi. You buy 100 contracts for $60, plus a $1.68 fee.
If they win, you collect $100, a $38.32 profit. If they lose, you are out $61.68.
You can also sell before the result, at whatever the market pays then. New to this? Start with what prediction markets are.
What Rhode Island has said about prediction markets
Attorney General Peter F. Neronha leads the fight. “There is no substantive difference between sports betting and ‘events contracts’ in this context,” he said.
The lottery is behind him. Director Mark Furcolo told the state's Joint Lottery Commission in February 2026 that regulators were examining prediction markets.
His concern is revenue. When someone bets on a prediction market instead, “there is an economic impact to the state,” he said.
Neronha's office says sports betting has brought the state $2.8 billion since 2019. It says lottery sports bets fell 8% from 2024 to 2025.
Rhode Island has backed other states too. Neronha joined the states' brief for Nevada in its Ninth Circuit case against Kalshi, which Nevada won.
The court cases that shape Rhode Island's rules
Two cases, now joined, sit before Judge Mary S. McElroy in federal court in Providence.
Kalshi filed the first, KalshiEX LLC v. Furcolo, at 12:03 p.m. on May 21, 2026. The attorney general sued Polymarket and Kalshi in state court about four hours later.
Polymarket moved the state's case to federal court the next day. The judge combined the two on June 22.
The CFTC joined on the apps' side on June 26. It says federal law bars states from applying gambling law to CFTC-regulated exchanges.
Kalshi, Polymarket and the CFTC all asked for preliminary injunctions. The judge heard them on August 3 and took them under advisement.
The state has since sent the judge newer rulings that denied prediction markets injunctions. Our page on whether Kalshi is legal in Rhode Island covers the case in full.
What Rhode Island residents can trade
Sports lead. Most Rhode Island fans follow Boston teams, and the Patriots and Red Sox trade on every major app.
Local college games trade too. Kalshi lists Brown against Rhode Island on October 3, and Bryant against Brown on October 10.
Sportsbook Rhode Island cannot take those bets. State law bars bets on Rhode Island college teams outside tournaments of four or more teams.
Politics is the other big draw. Helena Foulkes beat Governor Dan McKee in the September 9 Democratic primary. No sitting governor had lost a primary since 2018.
She faces Republican Aaron Guckian and independent Ken Block on November 3. Kalshi lists the governor's race and Jack Reed's Senate race.
Economics, crypto and weather markets round it out.
The risks for Rhode Island traders
The law could shift on one ruling. If Judge McElroy sides with the state, it could move against Polymarket's and Kalshi's sports contracts.
The state wants more than a stop. It asks the court to make both apps give up their profits.
You can lose everything you put into a contract. A 90¢ favorite that loses pays nothing.
Taxes apply. Rhode Island taxes income at 3.75% to 5.99%, and how the IRS treats event contracts is not settled.
Trade only what you can afford to lose. Our responsible trading guide covers limits and where to get help.
What could change for Rhode Island traders
Three things could. The first is Judge McElroy's ruling on the injunctions, pending since August 3.
The second is an appeal. The First Circuit, which covers Rhode Island, has never ruled on the question.
The third is the Supreme Court. New Jersey has asked it to settle the question for every state.
Our litigation tracker follows each of these cases.
Rhode Island prediction market timeline
Every change to prediction markets' standing in Rhode Island, newest first. Each entry links the ruling, filing or report behind it.
Prediction markets vs sports betting in Rhode Island
Rhode Island runs sports betting itself. It legalized betting in 2018, a month after the Supreme Court allowed it, and added online betting in 2019.
You bet at Bally's Twin River Lincoln or Bally's Tiverton, or through the Sportsbook Rhode Island app, inside the state. You must be 18.
IGT runs the technology. By law, the state keeps 51% of the revenue, IGT gets 32% and the two casinos 17%.
The monopoly has critics. A 2025 bill to open the market passed the state Senate 30-3 but failed in the House.
That year, eight companies answered the lottery's call for interest, including DraftKings and FanDuel. For now, neither can run a sportsbook here, so both sell sports contracts instead.
If a problem comes up on an app, you complain to the app first, then to the CFTC.
How to choose a prediction market app in Rhode Island
Start with what you want to trade. For sports, Rhode Island has more choice than most states, sportsbook brands included.
Then weigh the legal risk. Polymarket and Kalshi are the apps in court here. The others face no Rhode Island action we could find.
Then compare fees. They vary more than prices do. Our fee comparison works out each app's cost on the same trade.
Our app rankings score every app on the same six criteria. Each review covers fees, payouts and the lawsuits against it.
If you use Polymarket or Kalshi, read Kalshi in Rhode Island and Polymarket in Rhode Island first.