Connecticut Orders 9 Prediction Markets to Stop Offering Sports Bets

Connecticut has told nine prediction market operators to stop offering sports event contracts to state residents, pushing its dispute with the sector into enforcement territory. For high-risk operators and PSPs, the useful part is simple: the state is treating these products as sports wagers when they lack the right Connecticut licenses.

1. The Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection issued cease-and-desist orders to Polymarket, Coinbase, Crypto.com, Robinhood, ProphetX, Novig, Webull, Gemini and Underdog Predict. State officials say the companies are operating illegally because they are offering sports wagers without the licenses required under Connecticut law.
2. The move comes as prediction markets expand quickly across the US. According to the American Gaming Association, about $40 billion will be wagered on the National Football League alone via prediction markets this year. On the first day of the 2026 college football season, one prediction market reported almost $250 million in trading volume on college football alone.
3. Governor Ned Lamont said Connecticut designed its legal sports betting regime in 2021 with safeguards for younger consumers and people dealing with gambling problems. He said the state is worried about prediction markets exposing “our kids” to risk and does not want prediction markets to “play games” with that framework.
4. One concern is student-athletes betting on sports in which they participate. Lamont questioned whether athletes should be able to wager on their own sports through prediction markets and said Connecticut would not allow that activity. State officials also say some prediction markets accepted wagers from people who would not be allowed to use Connecticut’s regulated sports betting system, including people under 21 and people on the state’s voluntary self-exclusion list.
5. The Department of Consumer Protection has also issued subpoenas to nine gaming service licensees and 15 media organizations that officials say may have information relevant to the investigation. The state says those businesses and media organizations are not themselves under investigation.

Connecticut also says the platforms offer contracts involving Connecticut college sports, which is prohibited under state law. That is the line PSPs and operators will care about: once a prediction market product starts looking like a sports bet in a restricted jurisdiction, the compliance question stops being theoretical very quickly.