Is Polymarket legal in Alabama?
Alabama gives the same answer for Polymarket as for Kalshi, with one twist that separates it from the other quiet states in this series. North Dakota stayed off both national filings against prediction markets. Alabama signed both. Its top lawyer has said, on paper and in federal court, that these contracts belong to state gambling law, and has not yet done anything about it at home.
Alabama at a glance
| Question | Position as of 27 October 2026 |
|---|---|
| Does Polymarket US accept Alabama users? | Yes; CBS Sports' October 22 state guide says Polymarket operates in every state except Nevada, with exceptions noted for Connecticut and Tennessee |
| Can Alabama residents use polymarket.com? | No; the offshore site geoblocks the United States under the January 2022 CFTC order |
| Has Alabama sent Polymarket a cease-and-desist? | No publicly reported letter |
| Has Alabama sued Polymarket? | No |
| Is Alabama on record against event contracts? | Yes; AG Marshall joined the July 2026 multistate letter to the CFTC and the October 7, 2026 Supreme Court brief in No. 26-299 |
| Legal sportsbooks | None, retail or online; no state lottery; tribal gaming only at Poarch Band of Creek Indians sites |
| Pending legislation | None; SB 257 (2026) died without a committee hearing |
| Federal circuit | Eleventh Circuit; no prediction market case or ruling |
| Kalshi's position in Alabama | The same; see Is Kalshi legal in Alabama? |
Which Polymarket an Alabamian can use
There are two Polymarkets. The original polymarket.com settles in the USDC stablecoin and has been barred from serving US persons since the CFTC's January 3, 2022 order against its operator, which carried a $1.4 million penalty. Reaching it through a VPN from Birmingham breaches that order and the site's own terms. The product built for Americans is Polymarket US, which runs on QCX LLC, a designated contract market the CFTC approved on July 9, 2025 and allowed to accept customers through intermediaries under an amended order in November 2025. It takes dollars, verifies identity, checks location and accepts users from 18. The federal licence and the national picture are covered in Is Polymarket legal in the US?
A state with no gambling regulator
Article IV, Section 65 of Alabama's constitution forbids the legislature from authorising lotteries, and courts have read it broadly enough to cover most gambling. Changing that takes a constitutional amendment and a statewide vote, and voters last rejected a lottery in 1999. The 2026 attempt, SB 257 from Senator Merika Coleman, would have put a lottery, casino gaming, retail and online sports betting and a compact with the Poarch Band of Creek Indians on the ballot; it never received a hearing in the Senate Tourism Committee. The only casino-style gaming in the state is the tribe's.
That leaves no gaming commission, no lottery corporation and no licensed sportsbook industry losing customers to an exchange. In Ohio, Missouri and Michigan, the letters to Polymarket and its rivals came from regulators whose job includes protecting a taxed, licensed market. Alabama has no such agency, so any action would have to come from the attorney general under the criminal gambling statutes, and none has.
On paper, Alabama sides with the states
What makes Alabama different from the other silent states is the paper trail. In late July 2026, Marshall and 43 other attorneys general wrote to the CFTC about its proposed rule on sports event contracts, saying the proposal went beyond the agency's statutory powers, was "in tension with the Constitution", and that sports prediction markets are "subject to state law, which is not preempted" by the Commodity Exchange Act, according to 1819 News. On October 7, Alabama was the first state listed after Ohio on the 39-state brief asking the Supreme Court to hear New Jersey's case against Kalshi, No. 26-299. Neither filing names Polymarket or orders anything in Alabama. Both mean that if a federal court ever rules for the states, Alabama's attorney general has already said where he stands.
Where other states have gone after Polymarket
Polymarket US has collected more state actions than its quiet status in Alabama suggests. Tennessee ordered it, Kalshi and Crypto.com to stop sports contracts on January 10, 2026. Rhode Island's attorney general sued Kalshi and Polymarket in Superior Court on May 21. Kentucky sued Kalshi, Polymarket and VGW on June 17, and a federal magistrate recommended on October 14 that the case go back to state court. New York's attorney general sued Polymarket US on September 24. Missouri sent it one of six cease-and-desist letters in mid-September, and Ohio one of ten on October 2. Polymarket answered Ohio by suing the state on October 16 in the Southern District of Ohio, its first suit against a state. None of those actions reaches Alabama; a state order binds the state that issued it.
The Eleventh Circuit
Alabama's federal appeals court is the Eleventh Circuit, shared with Florida and Georgia. None of the three states has an enforcement case against a prediction market, and the circuit has no appeal on the question. The nearest live dispute is in Florida state court, where the Seminole Tribe sued DraftKings and its prediction market arm on October 8 under its gaming compact; Polymarket is not a party. Elsewhere, the Sixth and Ninth Circuits have ruled for states, the Third for Kalshi, and on October 23 Kalshi opened a pre-emptive suit against Louisiana in the Fifth Circuit. New Jersey's petition in No. 26-299 waits on Kalshi's November 9 response, and a Supreme Court decision would bind Alabama whichever way it goes.
How Polymarket compares with Kalshi in Alabama
In practice the two are in the same position: available, unlicensed by the state, untaxed by it and untouched by enforcement. The difference is exposure elsewhere. Kalshi is fighting more states in court, including the 39 on the Supreme Court brief Alabama signed; Polymarket has been named in fewer suits but has now sued a state itself. Since October 26 both are also the NBA's preferred prediction market exchanges, which changes their marketing in Alabama but not their legal status. Fees and products differ, which our fee comparison sets out.
What this means in practice
An Alabama resident can open a Polymarket US account at 18 and trade sports, economic and political contracts, in a state where no licensed operator can take a sports bet at all. What could change that, in rough order of likelihood: a Supreme Court decision for New Jersey; an Alabama enforcement action built on the position Marshall has already taken in federal filings; or a constitutional amendment that creates a regulator with a market to protect. This describes current enforcement; it is not a legal opinion on whether trading is lawful.
Frequently asked questions
Is Polymarket legal in Alabama?
Polymarket US, the CFTC-regulated exchange run by QCX LLC, is available in Alabama and no Alabama order restricts it as of October 27, 2026. The state has sent no cease-and-desist and filed no lawsuit, although Attorney General Steve Marshall has argued in federal filings that sports prediction markets are subject to state gambling law. That is the enforcement position, not a court ruling.
Can I use polymarket.com from Alabama?
No. The offshore site has been closed to US persons since the CFTC's January 2022 order against its operator and geoblocks the United States. The product available to Alabama residents is the Polymarket US app.
Does Alabama have legal sports betting?
No. Alabama has no licensed sportsbook, retail or online, and no state lottery. Article IV, Section 65 of the state constitution bars lotteries, so legalisation needs a statewide vote. The 2026 bill to put one on the ballot, SB 257, never got a committee hearing.
Which court decides Polymarket's status in Alabama?
The Eleventh Circuit, which covers Alabama, Florida and Georgia and has not ruled on prediction markets. A Supreme Court decision in New Jersey's case against Kalshi, No. 26-299, would apply nationwide.
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Sources
- CBS Sports, Are sports prediction markets legal? Status of Kalshi and Polymarket in all 50 states, 22 October 2026, for availability; a third-party guide, not a venue statement.
- 1819 News, AG Marshall: Sports prediction markets subject to state law, 30 July 2026, for the 44-attorney-general letter to the CFTC.
- Supreme Court of the United States, Brief of Ohio and 38 other states and the District of Columbia, No. 26-299, 7 October 2026, for Alabama's signature.
- Justia, Alabama Constitution, Article IV, Section 65; Alabama Legislature, SB 257, 2026 Regular Session.
- CFTC, Designated contract market filings: QCX LLC d/b/a Polymarket US, for the July 9, 2025 designation; the January 3, 2022 order; and Covers, CFTC amended order gets Polymarket one step closer to US return, 25 November 2025.
- DeFi Rate, Kalshi sues Louisiana to block sports contract enforcement, for the October 23 filing. Dates of other state actions are from our change log.
18+ only. Prediction market contracts carry real financial risk. This page is analysis, not legal, financial or betting advice. If gambling stops being fun, help is available at 1-800-GAMBLER.