Availability · Illinois
Are prediction markets legal in Illinois?
Contested. Illinois sent cease-and-desist letters to Kalshi, Crypto.com, Robinhood and Polymarket US, and a law in force since 1 July 2026 treats exchange-traded sports contracts as wagers that need a state licence. Challenges by the CFTC, Kalshi and Coinbase are pending in federal court with no ruling.
Of the 26 platforms we review, 8 are open in Illinois, 4 with restrictions and 11 not at all; for 3 the terms do not say. Sports betting in Illinois: legal, licensed by the Illinois Gaming Board (cftc.gov).
Not legal advice. Eligibility usually follows where you are when you trade, and a platform can refuse an individual account. Checked 29 September 2026.
What Illinois has done 8
lawsuitKalshi
KalshiEX LLC (plaintiff) v. Raoul et al., N.D. Ill. No. 1:26-cv-07363 (reassigned to Judge Pacold). Kalshi sued to block SB 3019 and IL gambling laws and sought an emergency TRO/PI. After a joint status report on 29 Jun 2026, the TRO hearing was stricken, and the PI was fully briefed (reply 24 Jul 2026).
final orderKalshi, Polymarket US, Crypto.com Prediction Markets
Governor JB Pritzker / Illinois General Assembly (SB 3019). Statute (not a court or regulator order) redefining 'sports wagering' to include exchange-traded 'exchange wagers', requiring an IGB licence and imposing a per-contract tax, effective 1 Jul 2026.
lawsuitKalshi, Polymarket US, Crypto.com Prediction Markets, Robinhood
U.S. CFTC / United States (plaintiff) v. State of Illinois et al., N.D. Ill. No. 1:26-cv-03659 (Judge Pacold). CFTC sued Illinois, the Governor, the AG and IGB officials, alleging the IGB C&Ds are preempted. It moved for a PI on 17 Jun 2026. On 14 Jul 2026 the Coalition for Fair Markets' motion to intervene was granted; NADEX d/b/a OG (Crypto.com) also moved to intervene, unopposed.
cease-and-desistPolymarket US
Illinois Gaming Board. IGB sent Polymarket US a C&D mirroring the one sent to Kalshi.
lawsuit
Coinbase Financial Markets, Inc. (plaintiff) v. Raoul et al., N.D. Ill. No. 1:25-cv-15406 (Judge Pacold). Coinbase sued the IL AG and IGB officials to block enforcement of gambling law against its planned event-contract offering, and moved for a PI on 23 Dec 2025.
cease-and-desistKalshi
Illinois Gaming Board. IGB accused Kalshi of unlicensed sports wagering and illegal gambling under the Sports Wagering Act and Criminal Code.
cease-and-desistCrypto.com Prediction Markets
Illinois Gaming Board. IGB sent Crypto.com a C&D mirroring the one sent to Kalshi.
cease-and-desistRobinhood
Illinois Gaming Board. IGB sent Robinhood a C&D mirroring the one sent to Kalshi.
Available 8
KalshiEX is a CFTC-designated contract market and its Member Agreement names no US state as restricted. State court orders block some contract categories in Nevada, Washington and Michigan; elsewhere its contracts are available. Kalshi is in litigation with about 20 states, so this can change quickly.
FanDuel Predicts is available in all 50 states and DC. Users must be 18+ and verify their identity. It is not available on or near tribal land.
Clients of Interactive Brokers LLC aged 21+ are eligible for event/forecast contracts; ForecastEx contracts on US election results are limited to eligible US residents.
Prediction Trading (and Sports Event Trading) is a CFTC-regulated feature of the Crypto.com App, offered through Crypto.com | Derivatives North America. The help centre says it is available in the US only.
The Terms and Conditions limit participation to people aged 18 or older who are U.S. Persons. They name no US state as excluded. PredictIt runs under CFTC no-action relief.
Play-money mana trading is open to users 13+ (minors need a guardian). Outside the listed states, US residents aged 18+ can also enter prize drawings.
DraftKings' own availability page (updated 2026-07-22) lists 48 states for Predictions, plus DC and US territories. Access depends on physical location and excludes tribal land. Sports markets vary by state; the breakdown is shown only as an image that could not be read. The official availability page and Predictions Terms returned 403.
“Novig is available nationwide, except in Arizona, Nevada, and Michigan.” Eligibility is based on physical location at the time of trading, and users must be 21 or older.
Available with restrictions 4
The international polymarket.com site is closed to US residents: no deposits and no trades. The help centre lists the US as blocked and the API docs list it as close-only. US residents are sent to the separate Polymarket US app, run by QCX LLC (a CFTC DCM). Polymarket US state-level eligibility was not verified because its ToS page loads its text client-side.
Listed in the Terms (updated 24 Jan 2025) among countries whose residents may not use Real-Money Services. Play-money (Ooms) markets stay open, and the app tells users from Restricted Jurisdictions they can still bet play money.
QCX LLC publishes no list of eligible or excluded states. A Nevada court granted a preliminary injunction against QCX LLC d/b/a Polymarket US on 29 May 2026 (Nevada Gaming Control Board). Missouri's Attorney General has sent a cease-and-desist over sports contracts, and New York has announced a lawsuit; neither state is marked closed because the operator has not said it geoblocks them.
ProphetX says it is “available nationwide” but publishes no excluded-state list; its help centre says access “is restricted from certain locations and IP addresses”. Connecticut reportedly ordered it to stop offering sports contracts to residents (September 2026); the order could not be read on the regulator’s site.
Not available 11
United States named in the Restricted Jurisdictions list; trading not permitted. Terms of Use (no date shown), Restricted Jurisdictions clause.
USA named as a restricted jurisdiction; trading not permitted, content features only. Terms of Service last updated November 18, 2025.
Contracts and services are not offered to US Persons. Terms of Use (no date shown).
Terms of Service (no date shown) state the Services are not available to US Persons, including those accessing from US territory.
United States is named on Probable's Restricted Jurisdictions page (no date shown); access and use prohibited for residents, citizens or persons located there.
Terms (updated 15 Jun 2026) s.1.6 treats US residents, US-located persons and US entities as Restricted Persons barred from the whole interface, including HIP-4 outcome markets.
The Terms say Insight does not currently allow trading from within the United States.
Platform is not available for trading to users from the USA. Terms of Service last updated September 15, 2026, section 1 Eligibility.
United States of America is a Prohibited Territory; trading in Supported Contracts not permitted. Terms of Use updated January 13, 2026, section 2 Prohibited Territories.
United States named as a Restricted Jurisdiction; Restricted Persons must not use the Services. Terms & Conditions last updated September 25, 2025 (embedded at xmarket.app/terms), section 3.2.
Terms (last updated 2025) say Zeitgeist does not accept clients from the United States; browsers from these Regulated Jurisdictions are prohibited from using the site.
Not verified 3
Prediction markets in Illinois: common questions
- Are prediction markets legal in Illinois?
- Contested. Illinois sent cease-and-desist letters to Kalshi, Crypto.com, Robinhood and Polymarket US, and a law in force since 1 July 2026 treats exchange-traded sports contracts as wagers that need a state licence. Challenges by the CFTC, Kalshi and Coinbase are pending in federal court with no ruling.
- Can I use Kalshi in Illinois?
- Yes — our records show Kalshi open in Illinois. KalshiEX is a CFTC-designated contract market and its Member Agreement names no US state as restricted. State court orders block some contract categories in Nevada, Washington and Michigan; elsewhere its contracts are available. Kalshi is in litigation with about 20 states, so this can change quickly.
- Can I use Polymarket in Illinois?
- Partly. Polymarket is open in Illinois with restrictions. The international polymarket.com site is closed to US residents: no deposits and no trades. The help centre lists the US as blocked and the API docs list it as close-only. US residents are sent to the separate Polymarket US app, run by QCX LLC (a CFTC DCM). Polymarket US state-level eligibility was not verified because its ToS page loads its text client-side.
- Can I use FanDuel Predicts in Illinois?
- Yes — our records show FanDuel Predicts open in Illinois. FanDuel Predicts is available in all 50 states and DC. Users must be 18+ and verify their identity. It is not available on or near tribal land.
- Can I use Interactive Brokers ForecastTrader in Illinois?
- Yes — our records show Interactive Brokers ForecastTrader open in Illinois. Clients of Interactive Brokers LLC aged 21+ are eligible for event/forecast contracts; ForecastEx contracts on US election results are limited to eligible US residents.
- Can I use Crypto.com Prediction Markets in Illinois?
- Yes — our records show Crypto.com Prediction Markets open in Illinois. Prediction Trading (and Sports Event Trading) is a CFTC-regulated feature of the Crypto.com App, offered through Crypto.com | Derivatives North America. The help centre says it is available in the US only.