Polymarket US has agreed to stop offering new sports-related event contracts to customers in Michigan and to close out every remaining open position held by Michigan residents by the end of the day, Eastern time, on November 25, 2026, the Michigan Gaming Control Board (MGCB) announced on Wednesday, October 28, in Detroit.
Source: Michigan Gaming Control Board — Polymarket backs down in Michigan, Oct. 28, 2026
The agreement is a stipulation approved by the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan. Under its terms, QCX LLC, doing business as Polymarket US, will cease offering new sports-related event contracts in Michigan, and any open contracts that Michigan customers have not closed voluntarily by the November 25 deadline will be closed out. In exchange, the state has agreed not to take enforcement action against Polymarket US so long as the company remains in compliance.
No new sports event contracts can be opened in Michigan under the agreement, and every open Michigan sports position will be closed by the end of the day on November 25, 2026, whether or not the customer acts first.
The fourth platform to stand down in two months
The MGCB described the deal as the latest in a series of actions this year against operators it says offer sports wagering products disguised as federally regulated 'prediction markets'. It follows similar agreements recently reached with Coinbase Financial Markets, Inc. and Robinhood Derivatives, LLC, as well as a state-court preliminary injunction obtained against KalshiEX LLC. Trade reporting put dates on the sequence: Robinhood was the first to retreat, agreeing on September 9 to stop offering sports event contracts, with positions set to close out on October 9; Coinbase agreed on October 7 to stop and planned to close open positions by October 10.
Source: Legal Sports Report — Michigan makes Polymarket fourth operator to halt sports contracts
Michigan's Attorney General's office notified Polymarket on September 10 that it would take legal action if the company did not stop offering sports event contracts — one day after Robinhood agreed to pull its contracts in the state. Polymarket had gone to court first: it sued state officials in federal court in March, seeking to block Michigan from enforcing its gambling laws. The court denied its request for a temporary restraining order that month and denied its motion for a preliminary injunction in June. Its appeal of that ruling is still pending before the Sixth Circuit.
What officials say
'Polymarket joining Kalshi, Robinhood, and Coinbase in stepping back from these unlicensed sports contracts shows that Michigan's approach is working,' said MGCB Executive Director Henry Williams. 'We expect all operators to respect Michigan's regulatory framework. If you want to offer sports wagering to Michigan residents, you need a Michigan license.'
Source: Michigan Gaming Control Board — statement of Executive Director Henry Williams
Attorney General Dana Nessel made the same point in sequence: 'One by one, from Kalshi to Robinhood and Coinbase, and this latest agreement with Polymarket, we're holding the national sports betting industry accountable to Michigan law.' Her office said the work with the MGCB is about protecting Michigan residents by ensuring gaming in the state occurs in licensed and regulated ways, under the protections and safeguards the law provides.
Why Michigan moved against event contracts
The fight is over who regulates bets on sports when they are sold as trades. Prediction-market platforms argue their sports event contracts are federally regulated financial products. Michigan's position is simpler: a contract that pays out on a sporting result is sports wagering, and anyone offering it to Michigan residents needs a Michigan licence, with the age checks, consumer protections and tax obligations that come with one. Courts in the state have so far backed the regulator's reading — a preliminary injunction against Kalshi in state court, and, in September, a Sixth Circuit ruling that Ohio and Tennessee can enforce their gambling laws against Kalshi's sports event contracts, a decision that is binding on federal courts in Michigan.
For Michigan customers, the immediate effect is narrow but complete on sports: no new sports contracts, and a hard November 25 end date for existing ones. The board's announcement covers sports-related contracts only; it does not say what happens to Polymarket US's other markets in Michigan. Polymarket declined to comment when asked by SBC Americas, which reported the company had notified Michigan customers by email on Monday.
What happens next
Three dates now frame the Michigan fight. On November 24, an Ingham County Circuit Court hearing is set in the Kalshi case, where the Attorney General says the company 'has elected to thumb its nose at the Court' by advertising to Michigan residents despite the injunction — Kalshi has responded to the state's concerns. On November 25, Polymarket's Michigan sports positions close out. Beyond Michigan, Polymarket's own appeal remains before the Sixth Circuit, and SBC Americas notes the wider jurisdictional question — who regulates sports event contracts — appears headed to the U.S. Supreme Court, with a petition pending. The Michigan deals pause the fight rather than settle it.