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The rise of prediction markets has resulted in more than a dozen lawsuits featuring Kalshi, Robinhood, and others—but until Jan. 16, Polymarket had stayed out of the legal fray.
That has changed.
The Nevada Gaming Control Board—which regulates gaming in the state—said Friday it has sued Blockratize Inc., the corporate entity behind Polymarket. It’s seeking a court order barring the company from offering “unlicensed wagering” in the state. A full copy of the suit was not immediately available, but the Nevada regulator issued a statement saying it has filed the “civil enforcement action” in the Carson City district court.
“Polymarket’s event contracts are wagers,” according to the complaint, a copy of which was obtained by Front Office Sports.
The gaming regulator claims companies like Polymarket must be licensed to offer sports event contracts in Nevada, saying “the gaming industry is vitally important to the economy of the state and the general welfare of the inhabitants and therefore must be licensed, controlled, and assisted to protect the public health, safety, morals, good order, and general welfare of the inhabitants of the State.”
The suit notes that Polymarket has “not undergone Nevada’s rigorous licensing process,” and says it does not pay requisite taxes on gaming revenue. It also says Polymarket has failed to implement “adequate safeguards” to ensure users cannot place bets using insider information.
The regulator wants an injunction prohibiting Polymarket from offering markets on “sporting or other events” it considers gaming,” unless and until the company obtains the necessary licenses.
The statement was first posted publicly by gaming attorney Dan Wallach. Polymarket did not respond to a request for comment.
The suit comes after the Nevada Gaming Control Board found some success in a separate lawsuit that Kalshi filed against it in federal court. There, in November, the judge reversed an earlier preliminary decision, ruling that the regulator can enforce its cease-and-desist order against Kalshi over the platform’s sports event contracts. Kalshi had sued the regulator last March after receiving a cease-and-desist. Kalshi has appealed that ruling to the Ninth Circuit, and the ruling allowing Nevada to force Kalshi to stop offering sports event contracts in the state has been paused while that appeal plays out.
Polymarket, which in October received an investment of up to $2 billion from the operator of the New York Stock Exchange, became available in the U.S. last month after nearly four years during which it was barred from operating in the country under a settlement agreement with the Biden administration. As it hyped its imminent U.S. return since the summer, Polymarket had avoided the same legal scrutiny as Kalshi and others. But Friday’s suit represents the second action from a state regulator against the company in a little over a week—on Jan. 9, the Tennessee Sports Wagering Council issued cease-and-desist orders to Polymarket, Kalshi, and Crypto.com.
The federal government under President Donald Trump has been much more favorable to prediction markets—Donald Trump Jr. is invested in Polymarket through his firm, 1789 Capital, and is a strategic advisor to Kalshi, while President Trump’s Truth Social is planning to launch its own prediction-market platform.
Nevada is a key battleground in the fight over sports event contracts. In September, it warned of potential legal action against sports betting operators if they began offering sports event contracts in the state without approval—DraftKings and FanDuel have since launched their own prediction-market platforms anyway, although for now neither offers sports event contracts in Nevada. Despite sports event contracts not being available on their platforms in Nevada, the state remains at odds with DraftKings and FanDuel.
The Nevada Gaming Control Board has also issued cease-and-desist orders to companies, including Crypto.com and Robinhood, both of which offer prediction-market products. Each of those companies also sued the regulator.
Nevada—once the undisputed sports betting capital of the U.S.—is working to maintain its prominence amid growing competition. Since the 2018 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that opened the door to sports betting nationwide, 39 states and Washington, D.C., now permit some form of sports wagering, and 30 states offer online betting.
