Polymarket US Lists Sports and Crypto Event Contracts Alongside Kalshi

Polymarket US is offering American retail traders another federally designated venue for event contracts, with markets on sports, politics and crypto that put it in closer competition with Kalshi.

Polymarket US is operated by QCX LLC, which the CFTC designated as a contract market on July 9, 2025. Polymarket closed its $112 million acquisition of QCEX, the holding company behind QCX and clearinghouse QC Clearing LLC, on July 21, 2025. KalshiEX LLC received its CFTC exchange designation in Nov. 2020.

Polymarket US operates separately from Polymarket International. The U.S. route followed a Jan. 3, 2022, CFTC order imposing a $1.4 million penalty and requiring Polymarket to wind down markets that violated U.S. derivatives rules. The platform had offered more than 900 event markets since it began around June 2020.

Later regulatory actions addressed specific operating requirements. On Sept. 3, 2025, CFTC staff granted QCX narrow no-action relief covering certain reporting and recordkeeping duties. An amended designation subsequently removed a restriction on trading through intermediaries, subject to conditions. Those actions were separate from QCX’s designation as a contract market.

For traders, the venues differ in the contracts they list and the terms of each trade. An event contract commonly pays $1 if the selected outcome occurs and nothing if it does not. A trader can also exit before settlement at the available market price. Fees, liquidity and contract rules can therefore affect the result, even when two exchanges offer contracts tied to similar events.

Sports listings face a separate legal dispute. New Jersey has asked the Supreme Court to consider whether federal derivatives law prevents states from applying gambling rules to sports event contracts offered on CFTC-registered markets. The petition concerns Kalshi, and the court has not agreed to hear the case. State oversight of those contracts remains at issue while the petition is pending.

Ohio and 38 other states, along with the District of Columbia, supported New Jersey’s request in a brief filed Oct. 7. The NFL filed a supporting brief Oct. 8. Kalshi’s deadline to respond is Nov. 9.