Connecticut Orders Nine Prediction-Market Platforms to Halt Sports Event Contracts

Connecticut’s Department of Consumer Protection issued cease-and-desist orders to nine prediction-market platforms and nearly 30 subpoenas to licensed gaming service providers, media organizations, app stores and payment companies, Governor Ned Lamont’s office announced Sept. 10, 2026. The state said the actions are aimed at prediction markets offering sports wagers to Connecticut residents without a state gaming license.

The orders went to Polymarket, Coinbase, Crypto.com, Robinhood, ProphetX, Novig, Webull, Gemini and Underdog Predict, which the announcement described as “known to be operating illegally in Connecticut.” The companies’ responses were not detailed in the governor’s release.

What the state ordered

According to the governor’s office, all nine platforms were ordered to immediately cease and desist advertising, offering, promoting or otherwise making available “sports event contracts” or any other form of unlicensed online gambling to Connecticut residents. Failure to comply could bring additional action, including civil penalties under the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act and/or criminal penalties for violations of Connecticut’s gaming statutes, the release said.

Lamont framed the orders as consumer protection. “Prediction markets have branded themselves as legal and safe, but the reality is they are not adhering to Connecticut’s consumer protection standards and gaming laws,” he said. Consumer Protection Commissioner Bryan T. Cafferelli said sports betting “may only be offered by legal, licensed sportsbooks that adhere to our regulations and technical standards.”

Subpoenas across service providers and media

DCP said it issued subpoenas to businesses that may have information pertinent to its investigation into prediction-market operations: nine licensees, 15 media organizations, and several app-store and non-licensed payment-processing organizations. The department emphasized that subpoena recipients are not themselves under investigation.

The licensed gaming service providers subpoenaed include payment processors PayPal, Plaid and Paysafecard; LexisNexis, which the state described as assisting with know-your-customer information; identity-verification platform Socure; compliance technology and advisory platform Integrity Compliance 360; and sports technology and data firms SportRadar Solutions, Genius Sports Media and Genius Tech International.

Media recipients include Hearst Connecticut Media, the Hartford Courant, Connecticut News Project, ESPN, NBC Connecticut, iHeartMedia and other state and national outlets. The Apple App Store, Google Play, Apple Pay, Google Wallet and Stripe also received subpoenas, according to the release.

Why Connecticut says the contracts violate state law

The governor’s announcement defines a sports prediction market as a peer-to-peer exchange where users buy and sell “yes” or “no” contracts on the outcome of sporting events. The state asserts that prediction markets offering sports wagers in Connecticut violate gaming and unfair trade practices laws.

The release also alleges the platforms offer and accept wagers from prohibited bettors, including people under the legal betting age of 21 and people on the state’s voluntary self-exclusion list, and that they offer wagers on Connecticut collegiate sports, which the state says is expressly prohibited to protect college athletes from influence and harassment. Those are the state’s allegations as presented in the announcement.

Connecticut currently licenses three platforms to offer sports wagering: DraftKings with Foxwoods, FanDuel with Mohegan Sun, and Fanatics with the Connecticut Lottery, the governor’s office said. Participants must be at least 21 for online or in-person gaming or sports wagering, and at least 18 for fantasy contests.

Kalshi dispute forms the legal backdrop

The enforcement sweep follows Connecticut’s escalating dispute with Kalshi. In December 2025, DCP’s Gaming Division ordered Kalshi and two other sites to cease and desist conducting unlicensed online gambling, specifically sports wagering, according to an Aug. 26 announcement from Attorney General William Tong.

The attorney general’s release said Kalshi responded by suing the state and seeking a preliminary injunction against enforcement of Connecticut law, arguing that its prediction contracts are “swaps” regulated solely by the federal Commodity Futures Trading Commission. U.S. District Judge Vernon Oliver denied Kalshi’s preliminary-injunction motion earlier in August, and Kalshi has appealed to the Second Circuit, the release said.

In the same Aug. 26 announcement, Tong said Connecticut had sued Kalshi and was seeking a court injunction to block the platform from offering unlicensed sports wagers in the state. The release did not identify the court in which the state filed that case. It also said the CFTC has sued Connecticut and two other states, arguing prediction markets should be regulated solely by the federal government; Connecticut has moved to dismiss that lawsuit.