Polymarket is taking Massachusetts’ fight against another prediction market to court.
Key Takeaways
- Polymarket filed the lawsuit Monday, days after Kalshi temporarily lost a court battle in the Bay State.
- Polymarket claims punitive measures would disrupt and harm its business intentions.
- The trading exchange already came up short in Nevada.
Neal Kumar, the trading exchange’s CLO, stated on X that Polymarket filed a lawsuit against Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell on Monday.
Today, we filed a lawsuit in federal court against Massachusetts. Congress gave the CFTC, not states, exclusive authority over event contracts.
— Neal Kumar (@HereComesKumar) February 9, 2026
These are national markets with critical questions that must be resolved in federal court 🧵
Polymarket’s legal strike comes after a state judge on Friday denied Kalshi's request to delay its sports markets ban while it pursues an appeal to an injunction.
This decision came despite Kalshi’s argument that prediction markets are federally regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, not at the state level. Polymarket is stating the same case in its lawsuit.
Enjoying Covers content? Add us as a preferred source on your Google account“Congress gave the CFTC, not states, exclusive authority over event contracts,” Kumar posted. “These are national markets with critical questions that must be resolved in federal court.”
Stating its case
Polymarket stated in the lawsuit that it hopes to avoid “imminent and irreparable harm arising from Massachusetts’s enforcement of state gambling laws against federally regulated derivatives exchanges - enforcement Congress has expressly prohibited.”
Polymarket cited the Bay State’s preliminary win over Kalshi and called any action against prediction markets “meritless” enforcement. Among its complaints, Polymarket claims any punitive measure would disrupt federally authorized operations, fragment a national market, reduce liquidity, jeopardize critical banking and commercial relationships, and undermine user trust, among other concerns.
“Immediate judicial intervention is necessary to uphold Congress’ mandate, protect the federal market structure, and safeguard the rights of users nationwide,” the prediction market platform stated in the court filing.
Battles continue
Polymarket recently lost a similar court battle in Nevada, where a judge ruled in favor of the Silver State’s lawsuit against the trading exchange. Polymarket then vacated the jurisdiction.
Ultimately, cases like Kalshi, Robinhood, Crypto.com, and Polymarket could eventually be heard at the Supreme Court level, with no end in sight to the legal issues. CFTC chairman Michael Selig said last month that the federal agency could provide aid to prediction markets in legal battles.
“Racing to state court to try to shut down Polymarket US and other prediction markets doesn’t change federal law - and states like MA and NV that have done so will miss an amazing opportunity to help build markets for tomorrow,” Kumar said. “As always, we continue to welcome dialogue with other states while the federal courts consider these important issues. We fight for the users.”
