Polymarket regained regulatory clearance to operate in the US in September, yet the company ended 2025 without opening its prediction market app beyond an invite-only waitlist.
The US version remains restricted, with users required to receive invitations to participate.
A company representative told Sportico that Polymarket was “continuing to roll users off the waitlist,” but did not provide a timeline for a public launch or explain the delay.
The limited availability has occurred while competition in prediction markets has increased. Rival platform Kalshi recorded a company-high level of betting volume during Christmas week. In December, several sportsbook operators also released prediction market apps, adding to consumer options during a period of heightened interest.
The timing means Polymarket did not participate in the 2025 NFL regular season, which concluded last weekend. The absence removed the platform from one of the most active periods for sports-related trading.
Polymarket acquired QCEX, a prediction market exchange and clearinghouse, in July 2025. In September, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission formally allowed Polymarket to re-enter the US after a three-year ban tied to operating without proper registration. The agency oversees most prediction markets under the Commodity Exchange Act, a framework separate from state-regulated sports betting.
During its period outside the US, Polymarket gained international users and later promoted a near-term domestic return through marketing campaigns beginning in August.
Advertising on Meta stated, “BREAKING: Legal football trading is coming to ALL 50 states this fall” and “BIG NEWS Texas. Trading on football will be LEGAL this fall.”
On September 26, Polymarket chief marketing officer Matthew Modabber wrote on X, “Yea I was just testing this U.S app we’re about to launch, this thing is BUTTER. Soon.” Four days later, he posted, “Heads down focused on the U.S app launch in the coming weeks!”
On December 5, a betting market on Polymarket’s international app titled “Will Polymarket U.S. go live in 2025?” resolved as “yes,” even though the US version remained invite-only and Modabber described it as a “beta.” Polymarket uses a cryptocurrency-based voting system to resolve markets on its global platform, meaning the outcome was not determined by the company itself.
The market’s rules allowed a “yes” resolution if “a real-money trade … publicly placed on a regulated, Polymarket-operated Designated Contract Market (DCM)” occurred, a condition that could include trades recorded before a full launch.
Polymarket remains widely inaccessible in the US, and the reason for the delay has not been disclosed. The situation contrasts with developments at Kalshi, where a publicly announced international expansion has yet to proceed as planned.
Original article: https://www.yogonet.com/international/news/2026/01/05/116954-polymarket-misses-2025-public-us-release-after-reentry-approval
