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Is Polymarket legal in Tennessee?

Status as of September 25, 2026 · every line has its source and date · not legal advice

Status at a glance

Kalshi is reported live in Tennessee, including sports: a federal preliminary injunction (2026-02-19) bars Tennessee officials from enforcing the Sports Gaming Act and gambling statutes against Kalshi, and Tennessee's Sixth Circuit appeal (argued 2026-07-30 together with Ohio's) was undecided as of the last docket entries checked. Polymarket US is reported blocked in Tennessee by CBS Sports, but national lists conflict and no first-party or court source confirms it, so it is marked unclear.

What has happened in Tennessee

Good to know

• The SWC's letter states that people under 21 are not permitted to wager in Tennessee. SWC letter to KalshiEX LLC (Doc. 8-1, M.D. Tenn. No. 3:26-cv-00034)
• The district court noted that, on the record before it, Kalshi did not appear to limit its services to people 21 and over. Memorandum, Doc. 48, M.D. Tenn. No. 3:26-cv-00034
• Kalshi told the court that 62,431 accounts were registered with a Tennessee address and that 53,233 of them had passed KYC (identity) checks. Declaration of Xavier Sottile (Kalshi), Doc. 9, M.D. Tenn. No. 3:26-cv-00034
• CFTC release 9230-26 announced an amicus brief in Kalshi's Ohio appeal (KalshiEx LLC v. Schuler, No. 26-3196), not in the Tennessee appeal. CFTC Reaffirms Exclusive Jurisdiction Over Prediction Markets in Sixth Circuit Amicus Brief (CFTC release 9230-26)
• CBS Sports says 'the CFTC was granted a federal injunction' in Tennessee, but the court record shows the injunction was granted to Kalshi in its own lawsuit; the CFTC took part only as an amicus on appeal. Order, KalshiEX LLC v. Orgel, No. 3:26-cv-00034 (M.D. Tenn.), Doc. 49
• A CourtListener opinion search run on 2026-09-25 found no Sixth Circuit opinion in any Kalshi case, although the same index returns the Third Circuit (2026-04-06) and Ninth Circuit (2026-08-28 and 2026-09-16) Kalshi opinions. CourtListener opinion search: kalshi, Sixth Circuit
• No Polymarket (QCX LLC) lawsuit was found in the Middle, Eastern or Western District of Tennessee, so there is no sign Polymarket obtained its own injunction in Tennessee. CourtListener RECAP docket search: polymarket OR QCX, Tennessee federal district courts
• Tennessee's attorney general joined the amicus brief of 38 states and D.C. supporting Maryland's regulators in Kalshi's Fourth Circuit appeal. Brief of Amici Curiae of Nevada, Ohio, 36 Other States, and the District of Columbia Supporting Appellees, No. 25-1892 (4th Cir.), Doc. 41
• No tribal lawsuit concerning Kalshi or Polymarket in Tennessee was found; the district court denied tribal groups' motion to file an amicus brief on 2026-01-27. KalshiEX LLC v. Orgel, No. 3:26-cv-00034 (M.D. Tenn.) docket, entry 43 (CourtListener)

State regulator: Tennessee Sports Wagering Council (SWC). The SWC licenses and regulates sports wagering and sent the 2026-01-09 cease-and-desist. tn.gov returned HTTP 403 on 2026-09-25, so this site was not opened; the SWC's role is confirmed from its letter and the court opinion.

The federal picture

Polymarket US operates as a CFTC-designated contract market after Polymarket bought the CFTC-licensed exchange QCEX; Kalshi has been a designated contract market since 2020. Whether states may still apply their gambling laws to sports event contracts is being decided in the courts:

• 2026-09-25 Pending appellate decisions that could change several states' status: Sixth Circuit (Kalshi v. Ohio, No. 26-3196, and Kalshi v. Tennessee, No. 26-5235; argued 2026-07-30), Fourth Circuit (Kalshi v. Maryland, No. 25-1892; argued 2026-05-07), Second Circuit (Kalshi's New York and Connecticut appeals, Nos. 26-1835 and 26-2239, heard in tandem), Seventh Circuit (CFTC and Kalshi appeals from the Wisconsin injunction denial, No. 26-2636 et al.), Tenth Circuit (Kalshi v. Utah, No. 26-4100). No decision in any of these appeared in the court records checked for this file (CourtListener; indexes can lag PACER by a few days). CourtListener dockets cited in the Ohio, Tennessee, Maryland, New York, Connecticut, Wisconsin and Utah entries
• 2026-09-16 Ninth Circuit (Blue Lake Rancheria v. Kalshi, Inc., No. 25-7504; Murguia, McKeown, Paez; opinion by Judge McKeown) affirmed in part and reversed in part the denial of two California tribes' preliminary-injunction motion, holding the tribes likely to succeed in showing Kalshi's sports event contracts entered from tribal lands are class III gaming offered in violation of IGRA and their gaming procedures; the case was remanded for the remaining injunction factors, so no injunction had issued as of the last docket entry checked. Blue Lake Rancheria v. Kalshi, Inc., No. 25-7504 (9th Cir. Sept. 16, 2026) - published opinion (PDF)
• 2026-09-09 Kalshi petitioned for panel rehearing and rehearing en banc of the Ninth Circuit's 2026-08-28 Nevada decision (KalshiEX, LLC v. Assad, No. 25-7516); Montana's 2026-09-17 enforcement pause is tied to the outcome of that request. KalshiEX, LLC v. Assad, No. 25-7516 (9th Cir.) docket, entry 206 (CourtListener); Joint Stipulation of Dismissal, KalshiEX LLC v. Knudsen (D. Mont.), Doc. 35
• 2026-09-02 New Jersey petitioned the US Supreme Court for certiorari in Flaherty v. KalshiEX, LLC (No. 26-299, docketed 2026-09-08); Kalshi's response deadline was extended to 2026-11-09; an amicus brief was filed 2026-09-22 by the National Council of Legislators from Gaming States. Supreme Court docket No. 26-299
• 2026-08-28 Ninth Circuit (KalshiEX, LLC v. Assad, No. 25-7516; opinion by Judge R. Nelson, with Judges Bade and Lee; Lee concurring) affirmed in part the District of Nevada's order dissolving Kalshi's preliminary injunction, holding the CEA likely does not preempt Nevada gaming law as applied to Kalshi's sports event contracts (which it described as sports bets, not 'swaps'), and remanded for the district court to consider Nevada's challenges to Kalshi's election contracts. Nevada's regulator described the ruling as a 3-0 decision also covering Crypto.com and Robinhood. KalshiEX, LLC v. Assad, No. 25-7516 (9th Cir. Aug. 28, 2026) - published opinion (PDF)

How sure is this page? Confidence: medium. Court records and a 2026-09-24 news roundup confirm Kalshi's status and the key court events, but Polymarket's blocked status rests on a single news source and a pending Sixth Circuit ruling could change Kalshi's status. Researched September 25, 2026; court cases in several states can change the status at any time.

Related: all states · Polymarket US · polymarket.com and the United States · is Kalshi legal in Tennessee? (Kalshi View)

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Frequently asked questions

Is Polymarket legal in Tennessee?

As of September 25, 2026: polymarket.com does not let US users open new positions, including in Tennessee. Polymarket US, the CFTC-regulated app, is unclear (sources disagree) in Tennessee according to CBS Sports (September 24, 2026). 1 state action involving Polymarket and 11 involving Kalshi are listed below with their sources. This is a dated summary of public sources, not legal advice.

Can I use polymarket.com from Tennessee?

Not for new trades. Polymarket's help center lists the United States as a blocked country and its developer documentation lists it as close-only (existing positions can be closed, new ones cannot be opened); US residents are pointed to Polymarket US.

Is Kalshi available in Tennessee?

Available; sports contracts available, according to the sources on this page as of September 25, 2026.

Polymarket View is independent and not affiliated with Polymarket or Kalshi. This page summarises public sources; it is not legal advice. Polymarket odds today