Polymarket is a federally regulated exchange: the CFTC approved its U.S. exchange (QC Exchange) as a contract market in July 2025. That is federal oversight, not a guarantee. It is also named in 6 state enforcement suits and 1 private or class action that we track, and several states say its sports contracts are illegal gambling. This page sets out the record; it is not a recommendation.

Federal registration means the CFTC oversees the exchange's rules, trading and clearing. It does not protect anyone from losing money on a contract. Check the lawsuits and state actions on this page before deciding.

Is Polymarket a scam?

Polymarket US is a CFTC-registered exchange, not an unregistered operation. Most of the legal fights over it concern whether states can regulate its sports contracts. Consumer suits naming it, which are allegations, are listed on this page.

Polymarket US · The record

Is Polymarket legit?

What can be checked: who regulates Polymarket, how trading works, and every lawsuit and state action that names it. We give the record, not a verdict.

Reviewed Nov. 7, 2026 · Live figures update with our records · Sources are footnoted

The short answer

Polymarket US, the version for American users, is a federally regulated exchange. The international Polymarket site is not, and does not accept U.S. users. It is also named in 6 state enforcement suits and 1 private or class action that we track, and it is blocked or restricted in 2 states. Federal registration is oversight, not a promise you won’t lose money.

Who regulates it

Polymarket’s U.S. business runs on QC Exchange, which the CFTC approved as a contract market in July 2025, with every contract required to be fully collateralized.¹ Polymarket bought QC Exchange’s parent for $112 million that month.²

A designated contract market must meet 23 statutory core principles when it is approved and afterward.³ It is the kind of exchange the CFTC says may admit retail customers.³ Registrations on file: DCM and DCO (DCM (QCX LLC) designated 2025-07-09; affiliate QC Clearing LLC d/b/a Polymarket Clearing registered as a DCO 2024-12-16 (CFTC industry filings)).

Its history in the U.S.

In January 2022 the CFTC fined Polymarket’s operator $1.4 million for offering event contracts to Americans without registering, and Polymarket agreed to keep blocking U.S. users from its international site.^4,5 In July 2025 it was reported that the Justice Department and CFTC had closed their investigations.⁶ After buying a licensed exchange, Polymarket won an amended order in November 2025, opened its U.S. app to a waitlist in December 2025 and ended the waitlist in May 2026.^7,8,9 The international Polymarket site is a separate venue and still not for U.S. users.

How trading works

Polymarket US’s CFTC order requires every contract on the exchange to be cleared on a fully collateralized basis.¹ Prediction market exchanges match users with each other and charge fees, rather than taking the other side as a sportsbook does.¹⁰

Account checks

Minimum age: 18.¹¹ Polymarket US requires date of birth, a phone number confirmed by text code, legal name, residential address and Social Security number. Most users are verified automatically; others may be asked for a government-issued ID and a selfie check. KYC must be completed before depositing or trading, and the terms require KYC, AML and sanctions screening.¹²

Lawsuits and state actions

We track 23 cases naming Polymarket US, and 13 states have taken enforcement steps against it, such as cease-and-desist orders, lawsuits or court orders. By our records it is blocked or restricted in Michigan and Nevada. Full list: Polymarket lawsuits.

State enforcement suits (6): New York v. Polymarket US (enforcement suit)
Kentucky v. Polymarket US (enforcement suit)
Rhode Island v. Kalshi and Polymarket US (enforcement suit)
Wisconsin v. Polymarket (enforcement suit)
Nevada v. Polymarket remand appeal (Ninth Circuit)
Nevada v. Polymarket (Carson City)
Prosecutions of individual traders (2): United States v. Spagnuolo (Google search-data Polymarket trades)
United States v. Van Dyke (Maduro-raid Polymarket trades)
Cases against people accused of misusing information to trade, not against Polymarket US.
Private and class actions (1): Hughes v. DraftKings, Polymarket and others (South Carolina)

Lawsuits and charges are allegations until a court decides them.

What registration doesn’t mean

CFTC registration means a federal regulator oversees the exchange’s rules, trading and clearing. It is not an endorsement, and it does not protect anyone from losing money on a contract. Whether states can bar Polymarket’s sports contracts is being fought in court, with federal appeals courts split; see the circuit split. If gambling is causing you harm, call or text 1-800-GAMBLER.

Questions

Is Polymarket legit?: Polymarket is a federally regulated exchange: the CFTC approved its U.S. exchange (QC Exchange) as a contract market in July 2025. That is federal oversight, not a guarantee. It is also named in 6 state enforcement suits and 1 private or class action that we track, and several states say its sports contracts are illegal gambling. This page sets out the record; it is not a recommendation.
Is Polymarket safe?: Federal registration means the CFTC oversees the exchange's rules, trading and clearing. It does not protect anyone from losing money on a contract. Check the lawsuits and state actions on this page before deciding.
Is Polymarket a scam?: Polymarket US is a CFTC-registered exchange, not an unregistered operation. Most of the legal fights over it concern whether states can regulate its sports contracts. Consumer suits naming it, which are allegations, are listed on this page.
How old do you have to be to use Polymarket?: 18.