Major prediction market platform Polymarket is currently not offering event contracts in Nevada following a recent court ruling.
The Silver State filed a lawsuit against the trading exchange on Jan. 16, citing that Polymarket’s event contracts are wagering and challenge Nevada’s regulated market. Judge Jason D. Woodbury ruled in favor of the state on Thursday, according to gaming attorney Daniel Wallach, forcing Polymarket out of the jurisdiction initially for 14 days through a temporary restraining order.
Judge Woodbury: "The question of federal preemption . . . is nuanced and rapidly evolving. At the moment, the balance of convincing legal authority weighs against federal preemption in this context," finding Judge Gordon's reasoning in Hendricks II to be "persuasive." pic.twitter.com/tpox4fB7P1
— Daniel Wallach (@WALLACHLEGAL) January 30, 2026
Wallach posted on Saturday that Polymarket appears to have vacated the state.
It appears that Polymarket has already ceased offering event contracts in Nevada. https://t.co/4QBT0l4cXQ
— Daniel Wallach (@WALLACHLEGAL) January 31, 2026
This means the trading exchange won’t be operating during the Feb. 8 Super Bowl LX at a time when prediction markets are gearing up for a major event. However, Polymarket has not been offering NFL contracts in the U.S. since its return to the country in December.
Unregulated operator
However, Polymarket has been offering contracts for the NBA, NHL, college basketball, and other sports, as well as politics. This, the judge decided, goes against legal, regulated sports betting in Nevada that requires operators to be licensed through the Nevada Gaming Control Board.
The judge ruled that Polymarket’s event contracts present “harm” to Nevada’s regulatory structure and licensing standards, which also includes the Silver State’s public because unlicensed markets on sports were being offered.
Enjoying Covers content? Add us as a preferred source on your Google account“An unlicensed participant beyond the Board's control, such as Polymarket, obstructs the Board's ability to fulfill its statutory functions,” Woodbury wrote in his decision. “The resulting harm in evasion of Nevada's ‘comprehensive regulatory structure’ and ‘strict licensing standards’ is immediate, irreparable and not sufficiently remediable by compensatory damages.”
Issue of preemption
Polymarket competitor Kalshi is also involved in a legal tussle with Nevada. Prediction markets’ derivatives are federally regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), and the trading exchanges argue that state laws and regulations don’t apply to them.
New CFTC chairman Michael Selig said earlier this week that his federal agency is drafting rules for exchanges and backing them in legal situations. Woodbury acknowledged that the “federal preemption” for prediction markets are “nuanced and rapidly evolving.”
“At the moment, the balance of convincing legal authority weighs against federal preemption in this context,” Woodbury stated in the Polymarket case.
