A Nevada state judge has issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) against prediction market platform Polymarket, blocking it from offering sports and event contracts to state residents. The order, granted by Judge Woodbury, is a significant early win for the Nevada Gaming Control Board in its legal fight to assert state jurisdiction over such platforms.
The TRO targets Blockratize, the entity behind Polymarket, along with related defendants QCX LLC (doing business as Polymarket US) and Adventure One QSS, Inc. The order will remain in effect for 14 days, with a hearing on a preliminary injunction motion scheduled for February 11, 2026.
The core legal dispute centers on whether Polymarket's contracts fall under the exclusive jurisdiction of the federal Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) or are subject to state gambling regulations. Polymarket has argued it operates a federally designated contract market under CFTC oversight. However, the Nevada Gaming Control Board contends that state licensing laws apply when contracts are offered to residents.
In granting the TRO, the court signaled skepticism towards Polymarket's federal preemption argument. Judge Woodbury wrote, "The question of federal preemption… is nuanced and rapidly evolving. At the moment, the balance of convincing legal authority weighs against federal preemption in this context." The ruling emphasizes the state's interest in maintaining the integrity of its "comprehensive regulatory structure" and "strict licensing standards," stating that harm from an unlicensed operator is "immediate, irreparable and not sufficiently remediable by compensatory damages."
The decision arrives amid a broader regulatory push concerning prediction markets. Just last week, CFTC Chairman Michael Selig stated the agency is preparing a new rulebook for such markets, which include platforms like Polymarket and Kalshi. The Nevada case is seen as an early marker in the tug-of-war between state gaming regulators and platforms that frame event contracts as financial products rather than wagers.
