Polymarket US stops sports contracts in Michigan

Polymarket US will stop offering new sports event contracts to people in Michigan and will close out any remaining open positions by the end of the day, Eastern time, on 25 November 2026. The Michigan Gaming Control Board (MGCB) announced the agreement on 28 October. QCX LLC, the company that operates Polymarket US, agreed to the terms in a stipulation approved by the US District Court for the Western District of Michigan.

An event contract is a yes-or-no contract on whether something will happen, such as a team winning a game, that pays out if it does. Platforms like Polymarket US argue that federal law shields CFTC-registered contracts from state gambling law, according to SBC Americas. Michigan treats sports contracts of this kind as sports wagering, which needs a Michigan licence. The MGCB release calls them "sports wagering products disguised as federally regulated 'prediction markets.'"

What changes for Michigan customers

• No new sports contracts. Polymarket US will stop offering new sports-related event contracts to Michigan customers.
• Open positions closed by 25 November. Customers can close their positions themselves before then. Any positions customers have not closed by the 25 November deadline will be closed by Polymarket US.
• No enforcement while it complies. In return, the state agreed not to take enforcement action against Polymarket US as long as the company keeps to the terms.

SBC Americas reported that Polymarket notified Michigan customers by email on Monday 26 October and that the company declined to comment.

How it got here

According to the MGCB, Polymarket US sued Michigan officials in federal court in March 2026 to stop the state enforcing its gaming laws against it. The court denied a temporary restraining order in March and a preliminary injunction in June. Polymarket's appeal of the June ruling is pending at the Sixth Circuit. On 10 September, the Michigan Department of Attorney General told Polymarket US it would take legal action if the company kept offering sports-related event contracts to Michigan residents.

Polymarket is the fourth platform to step back in Michigan. Coinbase Financial Markets and Robinhood Derivatives reached similar agreements with the state. Michigan obtained a state-court preliminary injunction against KalshiEX LLC, which was signed on 1 September.

What the officials said

"Polymarket joining Kalshi, Robinhood, and Coinbase in stepping back from these unlicensed sports contracts shows that Michigan's approach is working," said MGCB Executive Director Henry Williams. "We expect all operators to respect Michigan's regulatory framework. If you want to offer sports wagering to Michigan residents, you need a Michigan license."

Attorney General Dana Nessel said: "One by one, from Kalshi to Robinhood and Coinbase, and this latest agreement with Polymarket, we're holding the national sports betting industry accountable to Michigan law."

What it does not decide

The agreement covers Michigan only and does not settle the wider question of whether states or the federal Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) regulate sports event contracts. SBC Americas describes the Michigan deals as pausing the fight rather than settling it, with the appeals still running. That question is being fought in courts across the country, including the CFTC's lawsuit against Utah and Kalshi's suit against Louisiana. Sports leagues are taking positions too: the NBA recently named Kalshi and Polymarket as preferred exchanges.

Michigan has been active against unlicensed gambling more broadly. In early October the MGCB sent cease-and-desist letters to 33 offshore operators it said were serving Michigan residents without a state licence.

If gambling or trading on sports is causing problems, help is available in Michigan at 1-800-GAMBLER, and the MGCB runs self-exclusion programmes for online gaming and sports betting.