CFTC probes Polymarket for breaching 2022 U.S. access ban

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission is investigating whether Polymarket violated a 2022 agreement that barred U.S. customers from its offshore platform. A person familiar with the matter said the agency is checking if the company broke the terms of its previous settlement. This inquiry is separate from the platform's current operations.

The probe focuses on two specific areas: the controls Polymarket used to detect customer location and its advertising in the United States. The CFTC is also examining the company's U.S. platform, which launched in late December. The agency is reviewing customer onboarding processes and protection measures on that domestic site. Reuters first reported the latest investigation.

This renewed scrutiny follows a broader probe opened earlier this year. That initial review was triggered by a Wall Street Journal report stating that Polymarket paid content creators to post videos of simulated trades. The creators showed fabricated wins on dummy versions of the website. The current CFTC inquiry is focused on the 2022 settlement and does not directly address those earlier marketing tactics.

In 2022, Polymarket paid a $1.4 million civil penalty to the CFTC. That settlement occurred during the Biden administration and required the company to stop U.S. users from accessing its platform. The CFTC opened a probe in 2024 to check compliance with that agreement. The Justice Department also opened a related investigation at that time. Both federal agencies closed those investigations in July 2025.

The person familiar with the inquiry did not provide a start date for the current investigation. Polymarket declined to comment on the probe. The CFTC did not respond to a request for comment. The company has not released new details regarding the specific controls under review.

The news arrives one week before the Nov. 3 midterm elections. Polls show Democrats leading in the race for the House of Representatives. The Senate race is neck and neck. Mental health experts and lawmakers have expressed growing concern about the rapid growth of prediction markets in the past year. The CFTC's review of Polymarket's U.S. onboarding and protection measures will determine if the platform meets regulatory standards for its domestic customers.