Vardan KhachatryanPrediction markets in Texas
All 15 apps we rank are open here, and 14 offer sports contracts.
- Apps restricted or contested
- None
- Rulings and actions in Texas
- None on record
- Legal sports betting
- None, apart from pari-mutuel racing
- Minimum age
- 18 on most apps, 21 on three
- State income tax
- None
- Federal appeals court
- Fifth Circuit: has not ruled on the question
- Last change
- September 15, 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 Texas
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.
That federal oversight is why the apps need no Texas license. It is also how they offer sports in a state with no legal sportsbook.
Texas has not challenged them in court. No agency has sent a cease-and-desist letter, and no law targets them.
The pressure is political. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has asked senators to study “closing gambling loopholes,” and the Legislature meets again in January 2027.
Which prediction market apps work in Texas
Every app we rank accepts Texas residents. All but one offer sports contracts. Interactive Brokers lists none anywhere.
Texas is open ground for the sportsbook brands too. With no Texas sportsbook to protect, DraftKings, FanDuel and Fanatics sell sports contracts here.
The Texas Tribune found DraftKings' betting app, opened in Texas, sends users straight to its prediction market.
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. Kalshi users should read whether Kalshi is legal in Texas.
| App | Status in Texas | More |
|---|---|---|
| Kalshi | Under state review for sports contracts, with no restriction in force | Is Kalshi legal in Texas? |
| Gemini Predictions | Available, sports included | Gemini Predictions review |
| Polymarket US | Available, sports included | Polymarket 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, 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 |
Is Polymarket legal in Texas?
Yes, through Polymarket US. It runs on QCX, a CFTC-designated exchange, and accepts Texas residents for sports and every other category.
No Texas action against Polymarket is on record. The Senate charge does not name any company.
Polymarket's position is the same as Kalshi's. It told KSAT that prediction markets are regulated “under a federal framework, not a patchwork of state rules.”
The international site is a different product. Polymarket.com runs on crypto, is not CFTC-regulated and is close-only for Americans.
Our Polymarket review covers its fees, payouts and how the US app works.
How a prediction market trade works
Each contract is a yes-or-no question. A correct contract pays $1, and a wrong one pays nothing.
The price is the crowd's estimate. A contract at 60¢ means traders put the chance at about 60%.
Say the Texans are 60¢ to win on Sunday on Kalshi. You buy 100 contracts for $60, plus a $1.68 fee.
If the Texans win, you collect $100, a $38.32 profit. If they lose, you are out $61.68.
You can also sell before kickoff at whatever the market pays then. New to this? Start with what prediction markets are.
What Texas has said about prediction markets
No Texas agency has acted against a prediction market app. We found no cease-and-desist letter, lawsuit or regulator notice.
The Senate is where the talk is. On March 27, 2026, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick gave the State Affairs Committee a charge headed “Closing Gambling Loopholes.”
It asks senators to study “the sudden inundation of prediction market gambling.” It also asks for ways to protect “Texas elections and Texas sports.”
The committee heard testimony on September 15, 2026. Sen. Bob Hall called the products “different costumes on gambling.”
The American Gaming Association urged a geofencing order and a state-court suit. Kalshi warned a ban would push Texans offshore.
Attorney General Ken Paxton has kept his distance. Politico reported he did not join the multistate briefs other attorneys general filed against Kalshi.
The court cases that shape Texas's rules
No court has ruled on prediction markets in Texas. No case is pending in the Fifth Circuit, which covers Texas, either.
Three other appeals courts have ruled, and they split. The Third Circuit sided with Kalshi on April 6, 2026, in New Jersey's case.
The Ninth Circuit ruled the other way on August 28, in Nevada's case. The Sixth followed on September 25, in cases from Ohio and Tennessee.
Those rulings do not bind Texas courts. They show the argument a Texas law would face, and why the Supreme Court may settle it.
Texas has fought a version of this before. In 2016, Paxton's office said paid daily fantasy contests were likely illegal gambling under Penal Code §47.02.
What Texans can trade
Sports lead. Game, season and player markets cover the Cowboys, Texans, Astros, Rangers, Mavericks, Rockets, Spurs and Stars. College football trades too.
Texas is one of the biggest sources of that money. Eilers & Krejcik found 43% of sports contract activity came from Texas and California.
Politics is busy this year. Ken Paxton faces James Talarico for the U.S. Senate on November 3, 2026: Texas Senate odds.
Gov. Greg Abbott faces Gina Hinojosa the same day. Kalshi lists the race by party: Texas governor odds.
Kalshi also lists the attorney general and lieutenant governor races, and the daily high in Austin and Dallas. Economics, crypto and oil markets round it out.
The risks for Texas traders
The law could shift. A 2027 bill could ban the apps or require a state license, and the CFTC would likely fight it.
Texas punishes the bettor, not just the bookie. Penal Code §47.02 makes a bet on a game or an election a Class C misdemeanor.
Whether an event contract is a “bet” under that law is untested. We found no case of a Texan charged over one.
You can lose everything you put into a contract. A 90¢ favorite that loses pays nothing.
Trade only what you can afford to lose. Our responsible trading guide covers limits and where to get help.
What could change for Texas traders
Three things could. The first is the Legislature, which convenes in January 2027 with the Senate's study in hand.
Patrick has long said no gambling measure will pass while he is in office. A crackdown on prediction markets is a different question.
The second is a lawsuit. Paxton leaves the attorney general's office in January 2027. Mayes Middleton and Nathan Johnson are running to replace him.
Either could sue the apps under state gambling law. That would bring the question to the Fifth Circuit for the first time.
The third is the Supreme Court. New Jersey has asked it to decide, and a ruling there would apply in Texas too. Our litigation tracker follows each case.
Texas prediction market timeline
Every change to prediction markets' standing in Texas, newest first. Each entry links the record behind it.
Prediction markets vs sports betting in Texas
Betting on sports is not legal in Texas, online or in person. Pari-mutuel wagering at horse tracks is the one exception.
Changing that takes a constitutional amendment, which needs two-thirds of each chamber and a statewide vote. The House passed one in 2023; the Senate did not.
Prediction markets fill the gap. You trade against other people on an exchange, not against a sportsbook's house odds.
The oversight differs too. The CFTC supervises the exchange, and no Texas agency does. If a dispute comes up, complain to the app first, then to the CFTC.
How to choose a prediction market app in Texas
Start with what you want to trade. Every app but one covers sports. For politics, weather and the economy, Polymarket US and Kalshi list the widest range.
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.
Weighing the two biggest? Our Kalshi vs Polymarket comparison sets them side by side.