Is Polymarket legal in Washington, DC?
DC at a glance
| Question | Answer as of November 3, 2026 |
|---|---|
| Licensed sportsbooks | Five district-wide apps: FanDuel, BetMGM, Caesars, DraftKings, Fanatics, plus retail books at arenas and stadiums |
| Regulator | DC Office of Lottery and Gaming |
| Minimum betting age | 18 under District law; some operators set 21 |
| Action against Polymarket | None found: no letter, no suit, no geofence request |
| Action against Kalshi | None; the District signed the 39-state amicus brief in No. 26-299 on October 7, 2026 |
| Federal circuit | D.C. Circuit, no ruling on state or District regulation of event contracts |
| CFTC suit against DC | None; the agency has sued ten states, none of them the District |
The short version is that the District has done nothing specific to Polymarket and very little in the prediction market fight generally. That is a position, not an endorsement: the District’s name is on a brief telling the Supreme Court that federal commodities law does not displace local gambling law, and if the Court agrees, DC would be free to act.
Which Polymarket a DC resident can use
There are two Polymarkets. The international exchange at polymarket.com has blocked US users since its January 2022 settlement with the CFTC, which imposed a $1.4 million civil penalty for operating an unregistered facility (CFTC). Polymarket US is the separate exchange for US residents, operated by QCX LLC, a CFTC-designated contract market acquired in 2025, and reached through its own app. The legal question in the District is therefore about Polymarket US, and the answer today is that it is available with no District-specific restriction we could find. The app can switch off market categories state by state, most often sports, so the app itself is the final word on what a DC account sees. Nothing in the District’s public record targets non-sports contracts such as elections or economics, which matters on a day when midterm contracts are the most traded markets on both exchanges.
What the District has actually done
One thing. On October 7, 2026 Ohio Attorney General D. Andrew Wilson filed an amicus brief in Flaherty v. KalshiEX, No. 26-299, on behalf of 38 other states and the District of Columbia, supporting New Jersey’s petition for certiorari (Supreme Court). The brief argues that the exchanges’ preemption theory intrudes on state sovereignty, raises a major-questions problem by handing a federal agency authority Congress did not clearly give it, and strips residents of the protections in local gambling law. It is about Kalshi, but its logic applies to every CFTC-registered exchange, Polymarket US included. Kalshi’s response is due November 9.
That is where the District stops. The Office of Lottery and Gaming has not sent Polymarket or Kalshi a letter, the Attorney General has not sued either company, and the CFTC has not sued the District, because there is nothing to sue over. Compare the states that have moved against Polymarket by name: New York Attorney General Letitia James sued QCX LLC on September 24, 2026, alleging unlicensed gambling and pointing to the 18-to-20 age gap under a state law that sets 21 for mobile sports wagering; Polymarket sued New York officials in federal court in Manhattan the same day (ForkLog, citing Reuters). Ohio gave Polymarket and nine other companies until October 16 to stop sports contracts, and Polymarket US sued Ohio on the deadline day; Connecticut ordered Polymarket to stop sports contracts on September 10; Polymarket US sued Louisiana on October 27 before that state acted. Our national Polymarket page keeps the list.
Why the age argument does not work in DC
New York’s complaint, Missouri’s letters and the NFL’s Supreme Court brief all lean on age: licensed sportsbooks take customers at 21, CFTC exchanges at 18. The District cannot make that argument. Its Sports Wagering Lottery Amendment Act of 2018 set the minimum age at 18, and the Sports Wagering Amendment Act of 2024, which opened the whole District to licensed mobile operators from July 15, 2024, kept it (Fox Sports). Some operators, BetMGM and Caesars among them, impose 21 as policy, but the law does not require it. A DC resident can lawfully open a Polymarket US account and a FanDuel account on the same 18th birthday.
What the District can argue is money. Licensed operators pay 20 percent of gross revenue as Class A operators, 10 percent as Class B and 30 percent under the Class C licence written for sports teams, rates in force since August 1, 2024 (DC Office of Tax and Revenue). Handle reached $856 million in 2025, when operators kept $94.7 million and paid $22.1 million in tax, and monthly handle ran between $54 million and $76 million through August 2026 (RG.org). A sports contract traded by a DC resident on Polymarket US pays none of that. In a market producing $22 million of tax a year the incentive to act exists, but the District is a city government without a gaming enforcement division, which is probably the real reason nothing has happened.
The circuit that has never ruled
The District sits in the D.C. Circuit, the court that was supposed to decide Kalshi’s election contract case in 2025. The CFTC had refused to let Kalshi list contracts on control of Congress; Kalshi won in the District Court in September 2024, the agency appealed, and in May 2025 the new Commission withdrew its own appeal, so no opinion was issued (SBC Americas). Election contracts, on Polymarket US as on Kalshi, trade today on an unappealed district court ruling rather than a circuit precedent.
The D.C. Circuit has never considered whether a state or the District may apply gambling law to a sports event contract, and no case is pending that would ask it to. The District therefore sits outside all three circuit rulings that bind other jurisdictions: the Third Circuit’s April 2026 decision for Kalshi against New Jersey, the Ninth Circuit’s August 28 decision for Nevada and the Sixth Circuit’s September 25 decision for Ohio and Tennessee. If the Supreme Court takes New Jersey’s case, its answer will bind the District like everyone else.
How Polymarket compares with Kalshi in DC
| Kalshi | Polymarket US | |
|---|---|---|
| DC letter or order | None | None |
| DC lawsuit | None | None |
| District’s stated position | Signed the 39-state amicus brief against Kalshi, October 7, 2026 | Not named, but the brief’s reasoning covers all CFTC exchanges |
| Minimum age | 18, with a default $2,500 monthly deposit cap for 18 to 20-year-olds since October 27 | 18 |
| States that have sued the exchange | Many, including Nevada, Ohio, Connecticut, Utah | New York (September 24, 2026) |
| Exchange’s own federal suits | Many | New York, Ohio, Louisiana |
The practical difference is small in the District itself and large elsewhere. Kalshi has lost in the Sixth and Ninth Circuits and faces criminal charges in Utah; Polymarket US has three federal suits of its own and one state case against it. Neither has a DC problem today.
What this means in practice
As of November 3, 2026 an adult in the District can hold a Polymarket US account, trade election and economic contracts, and, unless the app says otherwise, sports contracts too, with no District order to the contrary. That could change if the Attorney General or the Office of Lottery and Gaming chooses to act, as Ohio did with a single batch of letters, or if the Supreme Court rules for New Jersey. Both exchanges have geofenced jurisdictions after orders were issued, so present access is not a guarantee of continued access. Our Kalshi DC page covers the same ground for the other exchange, and the legality tracker has the current map. This is not legal advice.
Frequently asked questions
Is Polymarket legal in Washington, DC?
Polymarket US, the CFTC-designated exchange, is available to adults in the District and no DC authority has written to it, sued it or ordered a geofence as of November 3, 2026. The District’s only act is a signature on the October 7, 2026 Supreme Court amicus brief against Kalshi. This is not legal advice.
Has DC sued or sent a letter to Polymarket?
No. We found no cease-and-desist, lawsuit or investigation by the Office of Lottery and Gaming or the DC Attorney General against Polymarket or Kalshi.
What is the minimum age for Polymarket US in DC?
Polymarket US accepts users at 18. The District’s own legal sports betting age is also 18, one of the few US jurisdictions where that is true, so the age gap cited in New York’s lawsuit against Polymarket does not apply.
Which court decides the question for DC?
The D.C. Circuit has never ruled on whether a state or the District may apply gambling law to sports event contracts, and no such case is pending. A Supreme Court decision in New Jersey’s case against Kalshi, No. 26-299, would bind the District.
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Sources
- Supreme Court of the United States, Brief of Ohio, 38 other states and the District of Columbia as amici curiae, No. 26-299, October 7, 2026
- CFTC, CFTC orders event-based binary options markets operator to pay $1.4 million penalty, January 3, 2022
- ForkLog, citing Reuters, New York authorities file lawsuit against Polymarket, September 25, 2026
- DC Office of Tax and Revenue, Sports wagering tax
- RG.org, Washington DC sports betting revenue statistics
- Fox Sports, Washington DC sports betting, for the 18+ minimum age and the list of live operators
- SBC Americas, DC court approves dismissal of Kalshi and CFTC election market case, May 8, 2025
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.