Connecticut Orders Nine Prediction Markets to Halt Sports Bets

Connecticut regulators want nine prediction market operators out of the sports betting business in the state. Cease-and-desist orders went out naming Polymarket, Coinbase, Crypto.com, Robinhood, ProphetX, Novig, Webull, Gemini and Underdog Predict.

The Department of Consumer Protection isn't mincing words. These companies are booking sports wagers without a Connecticut licence. That's illegal here.

The orders drop at a moment when prediction markets are spreading fast across the country. The American Gaming Association expects roughly $40 billion to be wagered on the NFL through such platforms this year. One operator logged close to $250 million in college football trading volume on the opening day of the 2026 season.

Governor Ned Lamont frames the crackdown as protecting what Connecticut built. Sports betting became legal in 2021, with guardrails written in for younger consumers and people dealing with gambling harm. "We're putting ourselves at risk. We're putting our kids at risk," he said. "I've got to make sure that the prediction markets don't play games with us as well."

Athletes betting on their own competitions is a particular concern. Lamont raised the question of whether student-athletes should be able to wager on games they play in via prediction markets. Connecticut, he said, won't allow it.

Regulators point to another problem: some platforms have accepted bets from people who'd be turned away at a licensed Connecticut sportsbook. Anyone under 21. Anyone on the state's voluntary self-exclusion list. On top of that, the state says these platforms list contracts tied to Connecticut college sports, which state law bans outright.

Nine operators are only part of the picture. Subpoenas have gone to nine gaming service licensees and 15 media organisations that officials think may hold information useful to the probe. Neither group, the state says, is itself under investigation.

Is Connecticut overreaching? Lamont rejects the charge. The 2021 framework, in his view, was meant to create a regulated market, not leave consumers exposed to outfits operating outside its rules. Today that licensed market runs through DraftKings with Foxwoods, FanDuel with Mohegan Sun, and Fanatics with the Connecticut Lottery.

Kalshi has already faced legal action from the state, and this fight sits inside a larger national question: are sports prediction contracts financial products, or are they sports betting? For affiliates, the near-term read is straightforward. Traffic heading to these nine brands from Connecticut IPs now carries real legal risk. Geo-targeting compliance checks aren't optional anymore.