Polymarket Self-Certifies Sports, Election Prediction Markets with CFTC

• Polymarket has self-certified sports and election prediction markets with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission
• The company will offer moneyline, spread, and total score sports contracts when it launches in the U.S.
• The company will also offer election winner event contracts

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To the surprise of no one, Polymarket will be offering sports and election event contracts to customers when it officially launches its prediction markets in the U.S.

The prediction market company today self-certified several sports event and election event contract markets with the Commodity Futures Tradition Commission (CFTC) at the QCEX website. Polymarket acquired the CFTC-licensed derivatives-exchange QCX and QC Clearing LLC in July for its potential return to the U.S.

While it has yet to announce a launch date, Polymarket will be offering election event contracts and sports contracts related to game outcomes, game spreads, and total scores.

Sports Event Contracts on the Way

Polymarket has self-certified several sports event contract types with the CFTC, certifying that each complies with the Commodity Exchange Act. The first type of contract is designated as an “athletic event contract,” which is basically a moneyline bet.

The market will deal with a specific outcome, such as “Team A to win”, and if the specified outcome occurs (Team A wins) then each long athletic event contract position shall receive $1 and each short position shall receive $0.

The second certified sports event market is for “athletic spread contracts,” which deal with the final score of a specific professional athletic association game,. The score is then used to determine the outcome relative to a predefined point spread. Each contract is settled to $1 if the outcome is determined to be true, and $0 otherwise.

Finally, the last certified sports event market is for “total score contracts,” which deal with the official final combined score of an athletic association game. The markets will include either over, under, or equal positions and will be cash-settled at $1 if the outcome occurs, $0 otherwise.

All official data related to the markets will be provided to Polymarket by SportsdataIO. The company also noted it may also use data from “other reputable news outlets, subject to Polymarket US’s sole discretion.”

While Polymarket has yet to announce its U.S. launch, the new self-certified markets will be listed no earlier than Oct. 2, 2025.

Back in Election Market Game

The company also self-certified election market contracts. The new “election winner event contracts” will be settled based on the winner of a listed election. The primary source for settlement will be the official results certified by the board of elections or equivalent governing body, the certification notes.

Both the CFTC and Justice Department previously investigated Polymarket for allegedly allowing U.S. based customers to bet on the platform during the 2024 president elections. Federal authorities searched the Manhattan home of Polymarket CEO Shayne Coplan, seizing his phone and electronics, during the investigation in November 2024.

Coplan joked about the incident during a CFTC and SEC roundtable this week in which he participated, saying he half expected to be “whisked away” by federal authorities before he could participate.

The investigation was eventually dropped by both the CFTC and Department of Justice in July 2025 with no charges being filed.

U.S. Customers Banned From Polymarket Since 2022

Polymarket has not been available to U.S. customers since 2022, when the CFTC fined the predictions market company $1.4 million for operating an illegal, unregistered or non-designated facility for event-based binary options online trading contracts, or “event markets.”

In addition to the fine, the CFTC issued a cease-and-desist to Polymarket for violating the Commodity Exchange Act and CFTC regulations.

The CFTC declared Polymarket had been operating an illegal, unregistered facility offering event market contracts since 2020.