Polymarket faces renewed CFTC probe over U.S. access to offshore platform

Shayne Coplan, chief executive officer of Polymarket, on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, US, on Thursday, Nov. 13, 2025. Michael Nagle | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesThe Commodity Futures Trading Commission is investigating whether prediction market platform Polymarket violated a 2022 settlement meant to ban U.S. users from its offshore platform, according to a person familiar with the matter.The investigation is part of a broader probe the agency opened into Polymarket earlier this year, after a Wall Street Journal expose said Polymarket paid content creators to post videos showing simulated trades and fabricated wins on dummy versions of its website. The latest inquiry focuses on whether Polymarket previously broke the 2022 settlement, and is unrelated to the platform's present operations, said the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to speak publicly.The federal agency is inquiring into Polymarket controls that are meant to detect where customers are located, as well as the platform's advertising in the U.S., the person added.The CFTC is also looking into the company's U.S. platform that launched in late December, specifically in its customer onboarding processes and protection measures, according to the source. Reuters first reported the latest investigation.The person familiar with the inquiry did not provide a start date for when the CFTC began investigating Polymarket. News of the CFTC probe comes one week before the Nov. 3 midterm elections, with polls showing Democrats leading to take control of the House of Representatives from Republicans, and a neck and neck race for the Senate, amid escalating concern from mental health experts and lawmakers about prediction markets' explosive growth in the past year. Polymarket declined to comment on the investigation. The CFTC did not respond to a request for comment. In 2022, Polymarket stopped U.S. users from accessing its platform and paid a $1.4 million civil penalty to the CFTC as part of an enforcement settlement with the agency during the Biden administration. In 2024, the CFTC opened a probe into whether Polymarket was complying with that agreement, and the Justice Department opened a related investigation. Both federal agencies closed those investigations into the platform in July 2025. Disclosure: CNBC and Kalshi have a commercial relationship that includes customer acquisition and a minority investment.