Polymarket has officially come back to the US after almost four years away. The platform had been barred from serving American users following a January 2022 settlement with the Joe Biden–era Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), which accused the company of operating unregistered trading markets.
Polymarket has been teasing its return for months, with the platform finally confirming on 3 December (Wednesday) that its app has begun rolling out to users on its waitlist, more than 200,000 people, the numbers reported by Front Office Sports.
The platform has already been accessible in beta, with UFC CEO Dana White among those given early access. In the days leading up to the relaunch, the app surged to the No. 1 spot on Apple’s App Store among free sports apps, as reported by Legal Sports Report.
Polymarket will relaunch with sports event contracts, expanding later to what it described as “markets on everything.” The platform had previously revealed that the first phase of the relaunch is expected to centre heavily on sports, aligning with the busy autumn football and basketball seasons.
The relaunch comes shortly after a major regulatory breakthrough, the CFTC issuing an Amended Order of Designation granting Polymarket the ability to operate a fully regulated, intermediated trading platform under federal exchange rules. The update brings Polymarket in line with the compliance expectations governing established US trading venues.
The US relaunch tease began shortly after Polymarket was cleared of two federal investigations by the Department of Justice (DoJ) and the CFTC under President Donald Trump’s administration.
The probes were launched during the Biden administration and focused on two key areas: whether Polymarket allowed US-based users to place bets in violation of regulatory restrictions, and whether it enabled unregulated trading related to the 2024 US Presidential election.
Sports event contracts remain controversial in the US, where sports betting is regulated state by state. Despite this, Polymarket’s closest competitor, Kalshi, has been offering sports-related markets nationwide, arguing that prediction markets are structurally different from gambling.
Kalshi continues to face ongoing legal challenges over these products, and industry observers are watching closely to see whether Polymarket will encounter similar obstacles as it ramps up operations. Meanwhile, Polymarket’s return was reportedly delayed by federal technical bottlenecks linked to the 43-day US government shutdown that ended on 12 November, according to experts quoted by Front Office Sports.
After the CFTC approval, Polymarket can now integrate with brokerages, futures commission merchants, and broader US trading infrastructure, positioning its platform closer to traditional financial exchanges. The approval confirms Polymarket’s operations will fall under the Commodity Exchange Act with full CFTC oversight.
Founder and CEO Shayne Coplan said the designation reflected “the maturity and transparency that the US regulatory framework demands,” adding that the company intends to demonstrate leadership as a regulated exchange.
Before the full rollout of intermediated trading, Polymarket implemented enhanced surveillance systems, clearing upgrades, and new Part 16 regulatory reporting tools. Additional compliance measures will continue to be completed ahead of the platform’s updated launch architecture.
Polymarket returns to a far more competitive market than the one it exited in 2022. Over the past two years, the prediction-markets space has exploded with entrants, including PrizePicks, Underdog, Novig, and President Donald Trump’s Truth Predict.
Traditional sportsbooks have entered the fray as well. DraftKings and FanDuel are developing their own prediction-market offerings, targeting states where mobile sports betting remains illegal. On 3 December, Fanatics launched its own platform across 10 states, including Delaware, South Dakota, and Utah.
Polymarket’s comeback also follows a significant financial boost from Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange, which agreed in October to invest up to $2 billion in the blockchain-based operator, valuing the firm at around $8 billion at that time.
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