Is Polymarket legal in Vermont?
Vermont at a glance
| Question | Answer as of November 4, 2026 |
|---|---|
| Licensed sportsbooks | Three online operators, DraftKings, FanDuel and Fanatics; no retail, no casinos |
| Regulator | Vermont Department of Liquor and Lottery |
| Minimum betting age | 21 for licensed sportsbooks; Polymarket US and Kalshi accept 18 |
| Action against Polymarket | None found: no letter, no suit, no geofence request |
| Action against Kalshi | None; Vermont signed the 39-state amicus brief in No. 26-299 on October 7, 2026 |
| Vermont’s stated position | Joined the 41-AG CFTC comment of April 30, 2026, which names Kalshi and Polymarket |
| Pending legislation | H.913, a prediction-market prohibition bill, in House committee since February 25, 2026, not moving |
| Federal circuit | Second Circuit; Kalshi appeals from New York and Connecticut pending, no ruling |
| CFTC suit against Vermont | None; the agency has sued ten states, not Vermont |
The short version is that Vermont has put its name on two documents and done nothing else. That is a position, not an endorsement: the CFTC comment asks the agency to confirm it has no jurisdiction over sports contracts, and the amicus brief tells the Supreme Court that federal commodities law does not displace state gambling law. If either argument prevails, Vermont would be free to act against Polymarket, and its 21-plus rule gives it a ready-made reason.
Which Polymarket a Vermonter 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 Vermont is therefore about Polymarket US, and the answer today is that it is available with no Vermont-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 Vermont account sees. Nothing in Vermont’s public record targets non-sports contracts such as elections or economics. For how the exchange itself works, see our guide to how Polymarket works.
What Vermont has actually done
Two things, both argument rather than enforcement. On April 30, 2026 Attorney General Charity Clark joined a bipartisan comment to the CFTC from 41 attorneys general responding to the agency’s proposed prediction-market rules. The letter says that “on so-called ‘prediction markets,’ users can make all the same wagers they can make at a traditional sportsbook,” that “any distinction between sportsbook bets and prediction-market bets is illusory,” and that the CFTC should confirm by rule that it lacks jurisdiction over sports-related contracts. Kalshi and Polymarket are both named (Vermont Attorney General). Then on October 7, 2026 Vermont signed the amicus brief Ohio filed in Flaherty v. KalshiEX, No. 26-299, for 39 states and the District of Columbia, supporting New Jersey’s petition for the Supreme Court to review the Third Circuit’s ruling for Kalshi (InGame). The brief is about Kalshi, but its reasoning covers every CFTC-registered exchange, Polymarket US included. Kalshi’s response is due November 9.
In the legislature, Rep. Tom Stevens introduced H.913, “An act relating to prohibiting certain prediction markets securities,” with twelve co-sponsors. It had its first reading on February 25, 2026, went to the House Committee on Government Operations and Military Affairs, and has not moved since; the Department of Liquor and Lottery, which would have to administer any ban, called it “an unserious action” (WCAX). That is where Vermont stops. The Department has not sent Polymarket or Kalshi a letter, the Attorney General has not sued either company, and the CFTC has not sued Vermont, because there is nothing to sue over.
What the neighbours have done to Polymarket
Compare the two states Vermont shares a circuit with. New York Attorney General Letitia James sued QCX LLC on September 24, 2026, alleging unlicensed gambling and pointing to the gap between Polymarket US’s 18-plus rule and the state’s 21-plus rule for mobile sports wagering; Polymarket sued New York officials in federal court in Manhattan the same day (ForkLog, citing Reuters). Connecticut’s Department of Consumer Protection ordered Polymarket to stop offering sports contracts on September 10, 2026. Elsewhere, Ohio gave Polymarket and nine other companies until October 16 to stop sports contracts and Polymarket US sued Ohio on the deadline day, and Polymarket US sued Louisiana on October 27 before that state acted. Our national Polymarket page keeps the list.
The New York complaint matters for Vermont because its central fact is true here too. Vermont legalised sports betting in June 2023, launched it online-only on January 11, 2024, and set the minimum age at 21 (Legal Sports Report). A Vermonter can open a Polymarket US or Kalshi account at 18 and a DraftKings account at 21. Unlike the District of Columbia, where the legal betting age is 18 and the argument collapses, Vermont has exactly the age gap New York is litigating. What it lacks is a reason to spend money on it.
Why Vermont has not moved
The numbers explain the restraint. In 2025 the three licensed books took $235.1 million in bets, kept $22.8 million and paid the state $7.25 million under a revenue share with a 20 percent floor; in 2026 monthly handle has run from $27.4 million in January to $13.6 million in August, the latter producing $380,000 for the state (RG.org). A sports contract traded by a Vermont resident on Polymarket US pays none of that, but the whole legal market is small enough that the revenue at stake is a rounding error in the state budget. Vermont also has no gaming enforcement division; the Department of Liquor and Lottery is a liquor and lottery agency that acquired sports betting in 2023, and it has said in public that it does not want a prediction-market ban to administer.
One more detail belongs on the record. Vermont Public reported in August that Kalshi gave $1,000 to Clark’s re-election campaign on June 23, 2026, part of $18,000 she has received from prediction-market and online-gambling companies (Vermont Public). We found no comparable Polymarket contribution in Vermont. The donation and the CFTC letter are two months apart and point in opposite directions.
The circuit that has not ruled
Vermont sits in the Second Circuit with New York and Connecticut. A federal judge in Manhattan denied Kalshi a preliminary injunction against New York on July 7, 2026; a federal judge in Connecticut did the same on August 10, holding that a contract on a football game is not a swap under the Commodity Exchange Act. Both of Kalshi’s appeals are at the Second Circuit and are to be argued together, with no argument date set (InGame). Polymarket’s own New York case is in the same district court. Until the panel rules, Vermont sits in a circuit with two district-court losses for the exchanges and no appellate precedent either way, which is a different position from Delaware’s, where the Third Circuit has ruled for Kalshi, and from Ohio’s, where the Sixth Circuit ruled against it on September 25, 2026. If the Supreme Court takes New Jersey’s case, its answer will bind Vermont like everyone else.
How Polymarket compares with Kalshi in Vermont
| Kalshi | Polymarket US | |
|---|---|---|
| Vermont letter or order | None | None |
| Vermont lawsuit | None | None |
| Named in Vermont’s filings | CFTC comment (April 30) and amicus brief (October 7) | CFTC comment (April 30); the amicus 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 |
| Second Circuit states that have acted against it | New York (letter, suit), Connecticut (orders, suit) | New York (suit, September 24), Connecticut (order, September 10) |
| Exchange’s own federal suits | Many, including New York and Connecticut | New York, Ohio, Louisiana |
The practical difference is small in Vermont and large next door. Both exchanges have been sued by New York and ordered to stop sports contracts by Connecticut; neither has a Vermont problem today.
What this means in practice
As of November 4, 2026 an adult in Vermont can hold a Polymarket US account, trade election and economic contracts, and, unless the app says otherwise, sports contracts too, with no Vermont order to the contrary. That could change if the Second Circuit rules for New York and Connecticut and Vermont’s attorney general decides the precedent is worth using, if H.913 or a successor passes, 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 Vermont 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 Vermont?
Polymarket US, the CFTC-designated exchange, is available to adults in Vermont and no Vermont authority has written to it, sued it or ordered a geofence as of November 4, 2026. Vermont has argued against prediction markets in a CFTC comment and a Supreme Court brief, but has taken no action against Polymarket itself. This is not legal advice.
Has Vermont sued or sent a letter to Polymarket?
No. We found no cease-and-desist, lawsuit or investigation by the Department of Liquor and Lottery or Attorney General Charity Clark against Polymarket or Kalshi. Vermont’s actions have been a 41-attorney-general comment to the CFTC on April 30, 2026, which names Polymarket, and a signature on the October 7, 2026 amicus brief against Kalshi.
What is the minimum age for Polymarket US in Vermont?
Polymarket US accepts users at 18. Vermont’s licensed sportsbooks are restricted to 21 and over, so the same three-year gap that New York’s lawsuit against Polymarket relies on exists in Vermont, even though Vermont has not used it.
Which court decides the question for Vermont?
Vermont is in the Second Circuit with New York and Connecticut, the two states that have moved hardest against both Kalshi and Polymarket. Kalshi’s appeals from both states are pending with no ruling, and a Supreme Court decision in New Jersey’s case against Kalshi, No. 26-299, would bind Vermont.
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Sources
- Vermont Attorney General, Vermont urges CFTC to recognize state authority over sports-related prediction markets, April 30, 2026
- InGame, 39 state AGs ask SCOTUS to hear Kalshi-NJ lawsuit, October 7, 2026, and Kalshi says Second Circuit already found CEA preempts state laws in 1981 ‘Potato War’ case, October 1, 2026
- Vermont General Assembly, H.913 bill status, and WCAX, Vermont lawmakers debate regulation of prediction markets, April 24, 2026
- ForkLog, citing Reuters, New York authorities file lawsuit against Polymarket, September 25, 2026
- CFTC, CFTC orders event-based binary options markets operator to pay $1.4 million penalty, January 3, 2022
- Legal Sports Report, Vermont sports betting, for the launch date, operators and 21-plus minimum
- RG.org, Vermont sports betting revenue statistics
- Vermont Public, Corporate cash fuels some Vermont political campaigns, August 27, 2026
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.