Polymarket US sues Missouri to block threatened enforcement against sports contracts
Missouri's attorney general told Polymarket US in September to stop sports contracts or get a state gaming licence. No court has ruled, and Polymarket US has not said it will pull the contracts.
· Effective · Verified 2026-11-10 via official docs
Effective Nov 9, 2026: Polymarket US sues Missouri to block threatened enforcement against sports contracts. Affects: Polymarket US users in Missouri who trade sports event contracts. Source: storage.courtlistener.com, verified Nov 10, 2026. Polymarket code dexsheet.
QCX LLC, which operates Polymarket US, sued Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway and the five members of the Missouri Gaming Commission in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri on 9 November 2026. The suit asks the court to declare that Missouri's sports-wagering rules cannot be enforced against its CFTC-regulated exchange and to block enforcement.
The suit follows a 16 September cease-and-desist letter from Hanaway. The letter gave Polymarket US 30 days to stop offering sports contracts to people in Missouri, or else get a Missouri Gaming Commission licence, pay state taxes and fees, and bar users under 21. Missouri charges a 10% tax on sports wagering revenue. Polymarket US says talks with the attorney general's office after the letter failed and it still faces a real and imminent risk of enforcement.
Polymarket US argues that the Commodity Exchange Act gives the CFTC exclusive jurisdiction over contracts traded on its exchange. It also says Missouri's licensing rules break the Commerce Clause, because both direct licences have been awarded, so a licence is now available only through a gambling boat or sports team located in Missouri. The case is No. 4:26-cv-01930 and has been assigned to Judge Sarah E. Pitlyk.
No court has ruled. Missouri users could lose access to sports contracts if the state enforces and no court blocks it. Kalshi, Crypto.com's North American Derivatives Exchange, Novig and Underdog have filed their own Missouri suits. Polymarket US is also litigating in Louisiana, Ohio and New York, and has agreed to end sports contracts in Michigan by 25 November.
“Those discussions were unsuccessful, and Polymarket US continues to face a real and imminent risk of enforcement, exposing it to civil penalties, forced cessation of operations within Missouri, and severe collateral consequences to its nationwide operations.”
— QCX LLC d/b/a Polymarket US v. Hanaway, complaint, E.D. Mo. No. 4:26-cv-01930
Who this affects
Polymarket US users in Missouri who trade sports event contracts. The international polymarket.com site already blocks US trading.
Polymarket at a glance
Polymarket is a prediction market where users trade Yes/No outcome shares on an order book. It runs two separate platforms: the international, crypto-based polymarket.com on Polygon, and Polymarket US, a fiat, CFTC-regulated exchange operated by QCX LLC. The international site also lists perpetual futures.
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Sources
Last checked . Fees and terms change often; the venue's own page wins if it disagrees with ours.
- QCX LLC d/b/a Polymarket US v. Hanaway et al., complaint, E.D. Mo. No. 4:26-cv-01930 (filed 2026-11-09) — checked 2026-11-10
- Exhibit 1 - Missouri Attorney General cease-and-desist letter to Polymarket US (2026-09-16) — checked 2026-11-10
- CourtListener - QCX LLC v. Hanaway (E.D. Mo. 2026) docket — checked 2026-11-10
- Law360 - Polymarket Adds Missouri Suit To Prediction Market Brawl (2026-11-09) — checked 2026-11-10
- Prediction News - Polymarket US sues Missouri AG Hanaway in federal court (2026-11-09) — checked 2026-11-10
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