New York sues Polymarket, alleging "illegal gambling"
New York sued Polymarket, alleging it runs an illegal gambling operation, continuing the state's crackdown on prediction markets.Summary
New York Governor Kathy Hochul and Attorney General Letitia James announced a lawsuit against Polymarket US on Thursday, alleging the company is "running an illegal gambling operation" through its prediction market platform. The suit claims Polymarket's markets meet the legal definition of gambling because outcomes are uncertain and outside the bettor's control. New York seeks to stop Polymarket from operating without a state gambling license and to require fines, forfeiture of illegal gains and restitution. This follows similar lawsuits against Kalshi, Coinbase and Gemini. Polymarket's chief legal officer Neal Kumar said the company will fight for its users, calling the lawsuit a "copy and paste" of a recycled complaint. Analyst Franco Granda of PitchBook noted that investors should treat litigation against individual prediction markets as an industry-wide risk. Meanwhile, Bank of America data shows consumer adoption of online betting platforms, including prediction markets, rose 40% in July compared to the start of the year, with first-time use up threefold. The question of whether the CFTC or state gaming regulators should oversee prediction markets may ultimately be decided by the Supreme Court.
(Source：American Banker)