Newsroom / Kalshi

CFTC gives regulated exchanges 30 days to end state blocks or explain why they cannot

The guidance covers Kalshi and Polymarket US, but it does not cancel any court order. No blocked state has reopened because of it, and Kalshi remains under orders to restrict access in several states.

November 5, 2026 · Announced · Verified 2026-11-07 via official announcement

The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission said on 5 November 2026 that federally regulated exchanges generally may not limit access based on where an otherwise eligible US trader is located. Those exchanges must end domestic geographic restrictions that violate its access rules within 30 days, or explain to its Division of Market Oversight why that is not feasible. CoinDesk reports the guidance covers Kalshi and Polymarket, which are registered as such exchanges.

Nothing has changed for traders yet. CoinDesk reports Kalshi customers in Nevada, Washington and Michigan have been geofenced amid its legal disputes, and a federal judge barred its sports contracts on the lands of California tribes suing it on 4 November. Polymarket US is enjoined in Nevada and agreed to close Michigan residents' sports positions by 25 November. Agency guidance is not a court ruling, and DexSheet found no court order lifted because of it.

Exchanges have a way out: they can tell the agency why compliance is not feasible, and it says it will weigh the facts of each case before taking any action. A Troutman Pepper Locke legal blog reads that as meaning the guidance does not simply direct an exchange to disregard a court order. The Ninth Circuit has already rejected Kalshi's argument that Nevada's restrictions and federal access rules cannot both be followed, calling it a "false, all-or-nothing proposition", the same blog notes. CoinDesk frames the guidance as setting up a clash with those courts.

Exchanges must also check within 30 days that brokers and other intermediaries reaching their markets are not imposing their own state blocks. The agency's reasoning is that blocking whole states splits liquidity and can leave a trader who travels into a blocked state unable to manage a position. The posted text is marked subject to technical corrections and takes effect on publication; the release does not say when the 30 days start. Counted from 5 November, they end around 5 December.

A Kalshi spokesperson did not respond to CoinDesk on its compliance plans, and DexSheet found no statement from Polymarket. CoinDesk notes that Chairman Michael Selig is the only sitting commissioner. Senator Adam Schiff said the agency appears to be encouraging platforms to continue in contempt of court orders.

“DCMs must cease domestic geographic restrictions that violate the Impartial Access Requirements within 30 days, or else submit to the Division of Market Oversight (“Division”) an explanation for why such compliance is not feasible.”

— CFTC release 9323-26, 5 November 2026

Who this affects

US traders in states where a regulated prediction market blocks access, plus exchanges and the brokers that connect to them. Access has not changed, and traders in blocked states should not assume it will.

Kalshi at a glance

More from the newsroom

• 2026-11-04 Arkansas sues Kalshi, alleging illegal gambling and deceptive trade practices
• 2026-11-04 Federal judge bars Kalshi sports contracts on lands of California tribes suing it
• 2026-11-04 Ninth Circuit denies Kalshi rehearing in Nevada case; Second Circuit refuses injunction
• 2026-11-03 CFTC clears perpetual futures on single US stocks for regulated exchanges