- New York’s Attorney General and Governor sued QCX LLC, doing business as Polymarket US, alleging it operated an unlicensed gambling business
- The suit alleges Polymarket let users aged 18 to 20 trade, violating a state law that requires gambling participants to be at least 21
- The state is seeking forfeiture of illegal profits, restitution for consumers, and fines of up to three times the company’s illegal earnings
New York Attorney General Letitia James and Governor Kathy Hochul announced a lawsuit against QCX LLC, doing business as Polymarket US, alleging the prediction-market platform has been running an unlicensed gambling business in the state, according to their joint announcement. The suit argues that Polymarket’s prediction markets meet the legal definition of gambling because they involve wagering on outcomes that are uncertain and beyond the bettor’s control, and that the platform never obtained the licensing New York requires from the state’s Gaming Commission.
Beyond the licensing question, the complaint alleges Polymarket allowed users between the ages of 18 and 20 to participate on the platform, which the state says violates a New York law requiring anyone engaged in gambling activity to be at least 21 years old. The lawsuit frames this as a separate and additional violation on top of the core unlicensed-gambling allegation, targeting the platform’s user-verification practices specifically.
The state’s complaint also raises a revenue-based argument: by operating without a license, the suit alleges, Polymarket evaded the tax obligations that licensed gambling operators pay into funds supporting education and other public benefit programs in New York. That framing positions the case as a matter of both consumer protection and public finance, not solely a question of which regulator has jurisdiction over prediction markets.
“Our gambling laws exist to protect New Yorkers, prevent the potential harms of problem gambling, and ensure funding for educational and public benefit programs,” Attorney General James said in the announcement. Governor Hochul added, “By running an unlicensed gambling operation, Polymarket has done more than just knowingly violate state law, they have put New Yorkers at risk, especially those underage.” The state is asking the court to order Polymarket to stop its unlicensed operations in New York, forfeit all profits earned illegally, distribute restitution to affected consumers, and pay fines of up to three times the company’s illegal earnings.
The suit follows a similar action New York brought against prediction-market rival Kalshi roughly two months earlier, signaling that state regulators are treating the entire prediction-market sector, not just one platform, as falling under existing gambling law rather than the federal commodities framework some platforms have relied on to argue they are exempt from state-level gambling licensing.
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