Nevada Court Blocks Polymarket for 14 Days Pending Injunction Hearing
A Nevada judge issued a temporary restraining order halting Polymarket while siding with the Nevada Gaming Control Board in a dispute over unlicensed wagering.
Polymarket is barred from offering prediction markets in Nevada for 14 days after a state court issued a temporary restraining order on Jan. 29 ahead of a Feb. 11 hearing on whether to grant a preliminary injunction. The company said it will challenge the order and has withdrawn from the state in the interim.
Judge Woodbury said that every day Polymarket operates “means more potential harm” to the Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB) and described the board’s potential injuries as “irreparable and non-compensable.”
He ruled that the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) does not automatically grant the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) exclusive authority. The ruling rejects the argument that federal law fully preempts state enforcement.
Gaming lawyer Daniel Wallach reported that Judge Woodbury also stressed the NGCB’s “statutory duty to protect the public” and oversee a gaming industry built on integrity. He said that an unlicensed operator such as Polymarket impairs its ability to monitor wagers, enforce compliance, and carry out its regulatory functions.
Origins of the NGCB’s Action Against Polymarket
The case began on Jan. 16, when the NGCB filed a civil complaint against Polymarket, alleging that the operator was conducting unlicensed sports wagering in the state. The complaint marks Polymarket’s first major U.S. enforcement action.
The filing marks one of the most direct enforcement actions yet by a state regulator against a prediction market operator. NGCB moved proactively to shut down activity rather than responding to a company-led jurisdictional challenge, as in several other states.
Broader Legal Context in Nevada
Polymarket’s presence in Nevada has been limited as the company only recently began re-entering the U.S. market after exiting in 2022. It’s currently in beta and, notably, isn’t offering Super Bowl contracts.
The temporary restraining order fits into a broader enforcement push by the NGCB against event-based and prediction market platforms. In November, a court allowed the regulator to enforce a cease-and-desist order against Kalshi, a dispute that is now on appeal before the Ninth Circuit.
In the same month, Robinhood agreed to cease operating prediction markets in the state for the duration of any ongoing appeal proceedings.
Together, the cases underscore Nevada’s position that contracts tied to sporting outcomes fall within its gaming statutes, regardless of whether they are structured as derivatives or prediction markets.
CFTC Signals Policy Shift on Event Contracts
The dispute also comes as the CFTC signals a more permissive approach to event-based contracts.
Newly appointed CFTC Chairman Michael Selig said on Jan. 29 that event contracts have operated under CFTC oversight for more than two decades.
He added that the agency will withdraw a 2014 proposal to ban sports and politics-related markets, along with a 2025 staff advisory that warned firms against offering sports contracts. According to Selig, both actions contributed to regulatory uncertainty.
The CFTC also plans to move forward with new rulemaking for event contracts. Most notably, the agency intends to “defend its exclusive jurisdiction over commodity derivatives” in ongoing legal disputes over regulatory authority.
The Feb. 11 hearing will determine whether the temporary restraining order converts into a longer preliminary injunction. The decision could clarify how far states can go in policing prediction markets despite the CFTC’s claim of exclusive jurisdiction over derivatives.
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