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NY sues Polymarket over prediction markets

Engadget •
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The state of New York continues to take action against prediction markets, arguing that they are running illegal gambling businesses. Today, the state's Attorney General Letitia James and Governor Kathy Hochul announced a new lawsuit against the domestic branch of Polymarket. The duo are seeking a court order "stopping Polymarket from operating as an unlicensed gambling business in New York state," according to the AG's office.

James also has a similar lawsuit underway against Kalshi that launched in July and she sued Coinbase Financial Markets and Gemini Titan in April. New York is one of several states attempting to reign in prediction markets and regulate them as gambling operations. Some of the state-level suits, including this latest action by New York against Polymarket, also argue that the prediction markets allow underage betting.

However, the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission has intervened and counter-sued some states for those efforts. The federal agency has alleged that it should be the sole regulator for prediction markets and claims that the states' legal actions fall outside their jurisdiction. The courts have been divided thus far on the question of prediction market regulation.

In a statement to Engadget, Polymarket's Chief Legal Officer Neal Kumar said, "Polymarket was founded in a tiny NYC apartment and now has more than 350 employees here, embodying why people and businesses come here to make it. We believe in New York and we're staying here. While the AG's decision to copy/paste a recycled lawsuit is disappointing, we'll fight for our users."