A Nevada court has prohibited Polymarket from offering event contracts in the Battle Born State for at least two weeks.
Judge Jason D. Woodbury ordered a temporary restraining order against the prediction markets giant on Thursday (29 January), to be reviewed at a hearing a fortnight later.
The news marks a speed bump in the ongoing attempt by prediction markets to offer trades on events, including sports outcomes, across the US amid resistance from state gaming regulators, currently being fought over in multiple courts across the country.
The complex tangle of often conflicting cases on the matter – which has led to a widescale disruption of the American online gambling sector – is widely expected by legal experts eventually to go to the US Supreme Court to unpick.
In the order, Judge Woodbury sided with the Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB), ruling that the Commodity Exchange Act does not vest exclusive jurisdiction over Polymarket’s contracts with the CFTC.
The order blocks Polymarket from offering sports and events contracts to Nevada residents ahead of the preliminary injunction hearing on 11 Febraury.
It argued unlicensed market participants beyond the board’s control, such as Polymarket, obstruct the regulator’s ability to fulfil its statutory functions, including preventing wagers from individuals who could influence sporting event outcomes, blocking underage participants and keeping unsuitable individuals from involvement.
Judge Woodbury said: “The balance of hardships and public interest in maintaining meaningful control over Nevada’s gaming industry for the purpose of ensuring its integrity strongly supports issuance of the temporary restraining order.”
The NGCB filed the civil enforcement action in the District Court for Carson City on Friday, seeking to stop Polymarket from allegedly operating unlicensed wagering in the state.
The Mike Dreitzer-led gaming body had said sports event contracts, as well as some other event contracts, constituted wagering activity under Nevada law, which would require a licence.
Polymarket regulatory troubles continue
The Nevada action is part of a broader pushback on prediction markets, which surged in popularity in 2025 amid a much more friendly regulatory environment under the Trump Administration.
Outside the US, regulators in both Hungary and Portugal issued bans against Polymarket last month, accusing it of illegal gambling activity, representing just two of the rising number of countries which block the platform.
Meanwhile, in January Tennessee’s gambling regulator also sent cease-and-desist letters to Polymarket, Kalshi, and Crypto.com, ordering the companies to immediately pull sports related markets accessible to Tennessee customers and refund pending wagers.
Polymarket recently resumed US operations through a limited relaunch, after previously exiting the market following a regulatory settlement with the CFTC during the Biden Administration.