Amid a interval of excessive development, prediction markets are attracting better regulatory scrutiny worldwide. This week, the Netherlands, New Zealand, and plenty of US states have all fought again towards platforms, primarily Polymarket and Kalshi.
Prediction markets are below hearth. Picture Credit score: Kalshi/Polymarket
In Nevada, the state has filed a lawsuit towards Kalshi, ramping up its efforts to banish the operator from the state.
Nevada has efficiently pushed out Polymarket and Crypto.com already, however Kalshi has stubbornly refused to withdraw from any states. FanDuel and DraftKings additionally gave up their sports activities betting licenses in Nevada to launch their prediction market platforms.
The battle between the state and Kalshi has been lively for the reason that Nevada Gaming Management Board issued Kalshi a cease-and-desist order final 12 months.
There have been a number of back-and-forths this week, however there stays no clear conclusion to the case as but. Gaming lawyer Andrew Kim has summarized the current actions on X, concluding, “From a authorized/jurisdictional standpoint, that is all getting terribly messy.”
There’s quite a lot of misinformation being floated proper now in regards to the fast-moving prediction-market developments in Nevada. Just a few ideas:1. The Ninth Circuit denied Kalshi’s movement for an *ADMINISTRATIVE* keep. Its major movement for a keep remains to be pending.— Andrew Kim (@akhoya87) February 17, 2026
Kalshi and Polymarket have expanded their market choices exponentially over the previous 12 months, together with the flexibility to commerce on all main esports occasions.
Polymarket Faces Fines Within the Netherlands
Within the Netherlands, it’s Polymarket’s political markets which might be attracting consideration. The nation’s playing regulator, Kansspelautoriteit (KSA), ordered Polymarket to cease permitting customers within the nation to entry its platform. If the corporate fails to conform, the KSA says it is going to concern fines of just about $500,000 per week.
Ella Seijsener, director of licensing and supervision on the company, mentioned, “Prediction markets are on the rise, together with within the Netherlands. A lot of these firms provide bets that aren’t permitted in our market below any circumstances, not even by license holders.”
Over $100 million was traded on a number of markets associated to the Dutch election on Polymarket.
The brand new Prime Minister, Rob Jetten, has vowed to take a troublesome stance on unlawful playing, and KSA says this contains prediction markets.
New Zealand Declares Kalshi and Polymarket Unlawful
In the meantime, in New Zealand, Division of Inner Affairs playing director Vicki Scott has additionally declared Kalshi and Polymarket as unlicensed playing firms.
She said, “We contemplate platforms reminiscent of Kalshi and Polymarket to be playing below New Zealand legislation.
“Since they aren’t authorised operators, they’re prohibited from providing their playing merchandise to individuals on this nation.
“To the extent these platforms are taking bets from New Zealand prospects, they’re breaching the legislation right here and may count on to listen to from us.”
Polymarket at the moment lists 33 nations which might be restricted from accessing its platform. These don’t embrace the Netherlands or New Zealand.
Picture Credit score: Polymarket
Polymarket Bypasses Blocks in Australia and China
Even in areas the place the platform is explicitly banned, customers usually discover methods to entry it. Slightly than imposing restrictions, Polymarket has been accused of encouraging residents in prohibited zones to commerce on its app.
In Australia, which is listed as a restricted territory, the nation’s playing regulator mentioned the corporate was utilizing social media influencers to attraction to Australians.
It has additionally been focusing on Chinese language customers. The pinnacle of the corporate’s go-to-market technique in China, Justin Yang, mentioned he was main a crew of Mandarin-speaking crew members to extend the platform’s presence within the nation. That’s regardless of China blocking Polymarket as a part of its infamous Nice Firewall.
Yang mentioned his crew would assist Chinese language market makers, develop a Chinese language-language interface for the location, and monitor search traits in China so as to add extra culturally related betting matters.
One person, linked to a Chinese language account on X, has taken benefit of the flexibility to entry Polymarket by producing over $100,000 in esports wagers over the previous month.
The positioning has additionally created markets associated to the Lunar New 12 months, the most important occasion of the calendar 12 months in China.
Whereas states and nations ramp up regulatory motion towards Kalshi and Polymarket, the 2 firms present no indicators of slowing down. As Kim wrote on X, “How all this shakes out, I don’t know”. As but, there are not any markets accessible for the way forward for prediction markets.
