Nevada Judge Blocks Polymarket in Latest Event Contract Battle

• Nevada judge grants injunction blocking Polymarket event contracts statewide
• Prediction markets face growing legal challenges from state regulators
• Battle over CFTC oversight versus state gambling authority intensifies

A Nevada judge has granted a preliminary injunction barring Polymarket from offering event contracts to state residents, The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports.

The ruling makes Polymarket the latest platform to be targeted aggressively by Nevada regulators, following similar court orders against event-contract providers Kalshi and Coinbase.

Nevada argues that event contracts constitute gambling and require state gaming licenses, while the prediction platforms contend they fall under federal not state jurisdiction.

Court Backs Nevada

First Judicial District Court Judge Jason Woodbury granted the Nevada Gaming Control Board’s request for the injunction on Friday, according to LVRJ, with a formal written order expected to follow.

“We are very pleased with Judge Woodbury’s ruling and will continue to vigorously enforce Nevada law to safeguard gaming in our state,” Gaming Control Board Chairman Mike Dreitzer said in a statement Monday.

Prediction markets claim that federal oversight automatically shields them from state gambling laws, a position that has triggered a legal battle with state regulators seeking to test the limits of that theory.

Kalshi and Polymarket’s U.S. exchange are regulated by the Commodities and Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) because their event contracts are treated as financial derivatives or swaps.

Nevada regulators say they offer sports betting, pure and simple, which “must be licensed, controlled, and assisted to protect the public health, safety, morals, good order, and general welfare of the inhabitants of the state.”

Aggressive Enforcement

In March 2025, Nevada sent Kalshi a cease-and-desist letter, accusing it of violating state gambling laws and warning it would pursue civil or criminal penalties. In response, the company sued Nevada in a federal court, winning a temporary order from US District Judge Andrew Gordon that blocked the state from taking action.

However, Gordon later dissolved the order protecting Kalshi from enforcement and expressed skepticism about the company’s legal theory.

“Nobody thought sports bets were commodities or excluded commodities or swaps until some brilliant people at Kalshi [did],” wrote Gordon bluntly.