Polymarket Chief Legal Officer Neal Kumar confirmed the operator has filed a lawsuit against Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell and the Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) to prohibit the regulators from attempting to ban its sports event contracts.
The operator alleged it would suffer “imminent and irreparable harm” if the state made efforts to block its trading on sports events contracts, and argued the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has authority to regulate prediction markets rather than states.
“Congress gave the CFTC, not states, exclusive authority over event contracts. These are national markets with critical questions that must be resolved in federal court,” Kumar said.
“Racing to state court to try to shut down Polymarket US and other prediction markets doesn’t change federal law — and states like (Massachusetts) and (Nevada) that have done so will miss an amazing opportunity to help build markets for tomorrow.”
Polymarket is seeking both preliminary and permanent injunctions to prevent Campbell and the MGC from enforcing state gaming laws against the operator.
Polymarket also cited Massachusetts’ ongoing case with Kalshi within the lawsuit after a state judge denied Kalshi’s motion to block a preliminary injunction request by Campbell and the MGC.
“That injunction demonstrates the Commonwealth’s willingness to use state law to shut down federally authorized markets despite clear federal preemption,” Polymarket said.
“Polymarket US now faces a real and imminent risk of identical enforcement, exposing it to civil penalties, potential criminal liability, forced cessation of operations within Massachusetts and severe collateral consequences to its nationwide operations.”
The operator believes any efforts to prohibit its trading of sports events contracts would be “meritless,” given the Commodity Exchange Act provides the CFTC with “exclusive jurisdiction” over prediction market regulation.
On February 4, Polymarket, along with its technology platform Blockratize, was hit with a nationwide class action lawsuit in the Southern District Court of New York, claiming the operator manages an “illegal online sports gambling platform.”
Massachusetts lawmakers chose to extend the reporting deadline of HB 4431 to March 16, which was originally introduced by Representative David Muradian and would legalize iGaming across the state
