Polymarket Faces Renewed CFTC Scrutiny Over Its 2022 Settlement

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission is again investigating whether prediction-market operator Polymarket complied with a 2022 enforcement deal that required it to block U.S. users from its main offshore platform, Reuters reported on October 27.

The renewed inquiry is part of a broader investigation opened earlier in 2026, according to two people familiar with the matter. The sources said the agency is examining how Polymarket determines where customers are located, as well as the company's advertising activity in the United States.

Inquiry also covers U.S. platform

The CFTC is also scrutinizing Polymarket's U.S. platform, which the company began rolling out late last year. The review includes customer onboarding and customer-protection processes, Reuters reported. The CFTC and Polymarket declined to comment, and the people spoke anonymously because they were discussing confidential enforcement issues.

Polymarket is based in New York and has an offshore entity registered in Panama. The company says it has strengthened its controls, expressly prohibits virtual private networks and similar tools used to evade geographic restrictions, and monitors for misconduct on its offshore platform.

What the 2022 settlement required

In a January 2022 order, the CFTC said Polymarket operator Blockratize had offered unregistered event-based binary-options contracts. The order imposed a $1.4 million civil monetary penalty, required the wind-down of markets that did not comply with U.S. law and regulations, and directed the company to cease violating the Commodity Exchange Act and CFTC rules.

The renewed review follows earlier scrutiny that Reuters says the CFTC and Justice Department closed in 2025 without bringing charges. An investigation alone is not a finding of misconduct, and Reuters noted that regulatory probes do not necessarily lead to enforcement action.

Sources: Reuters · CFTC · CNBC