Prediction Markets in New York: Legal Status

Status as of October 20, 2026

New York has two enforcement proceedings against prediction-market operators, and neither has been decided. The Attorney General's petition against KalshiEX LLC, filed on July 31, 2026, alleges at paragraph 54 that "Respondent is not licensed by the New York State Gaming Commission in any capacity" [1]; removed the same day, it sits in the Southern District of New York as 1:26-cv-06550 before Judge Vernon S. Broderick, where the state's motion to send it back to state court has been fully submitted since August 28, 2026 and no later entry appears in the docket record read on October 20, 2026 [4]. The petition against QCX LLC, d/b/a Polymarket US, filed on September 24, 2026, makes the same allegation at paragraph 11 [14]; it was removed the same day as 1:26-cv-08338 and sits with QCX's own suit, 1:26-cv-08345, before Judge Ronnie Abrams, where a motion to remand and a motion for a preliminary injunction are now each awaiting a briefing schedule [15, 16]. Three suits against New York officials, by OG (1:26-cv-04980), Ludlow Exchange (1:26-cv-06676) and the United States with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (1:26-cv-03404), each show an undecided preliminary injunction motion [8, 9, 18]. No New York-specific primary record was located for PredictIt or Robinhood.

What the record shows

Oldest first, from the documents themselves.

October 24, 2025: Gaming Commission Executive Director Robert Williams writes to KalshiEX LLC demanding that it "cease and desist immediately from illegally operating, advertising, promoting, administering, managing, or otherwise making available sports wagering and/or a mobile sports wagering platform in New York," and states that Kalshi "is not licensed by the Commission" to offer one [2].

April to August 2026: The United States and the CFTC sue the State of New York, the Governor, the Attorney General and the Gaming Commission on April 24 [18]; OG sues on June 12 [8]; Ludlow Exchange sues on August 4 [9].

July 7, 2026: In KalshiEX LLC v. Williams, 1:25-cv-08846 (S.D.N.Y.), Judge Analisa Torres issues an Opinion and Order whose conclusion reads: "Kalshi's motion for a preliminary injunction is DENIED" [3]. An injunction pending appeal is denied on July 27, and on July 29 the Second Circuit denies temporary relief and refers the motion to a three-judge panel [5].

July 31 to August 28, 2026: The Attorney General files the Kalshi petition and Kalshi removes it to federal court the same day [1, 4]. The state moves to remand on August 7, the case is reassigned to Judge Broderick on August 10, and briefing closes with the state's reply on August 28 [4].

August 11, 2026: The CFTC, on a notice Kalshi filed on August 1, orders under section 8a(9) of the Commodity Exchange Act that Kalshi "shall continue to perform its functions as an exchange in accordance with the CEA's Core Principles and its normal practices" [17].

August 31 to September 28, 2026: Kalshi files its appellant brief in Second Circuit No. 26-1835; the court sets the appellees' brief for October 30, orders on September 3 that the appeal be heard in tandem with Nos. 26-2239 and 26-2297, and receives a CFTC amicus brief on September 8; the appellees move to file an oversized brief on September 28 [6].

September 24 to 30, 2026: The Attorney General files the QCX petition, asking the court to enjoin the respondent "from continuing to operate a gambling business in New York without being licensed by the New York State Gaming Commission" [13, 14]. QCX removes it and files its own complaint the same day. On September 30, Judge Abrams orders a joint letter on whether to proceed or stay pending the three Second Circuit appeals [15, 16].

October 5 to 16, 2026: In the federal government's suit, the United States and the CFTC file a notice of supplemental authority on October 5, attaching an opinion in United States v. Illinois [18]. The parties in both QCX matters answer Judge Abrams on October 7, and her orders of October 9 direct them to "confer and propose a briefing schedule for Plaintiff's motion to remand, Dkt. 14," a motion the state filed on October 6, and, in QCX's suit, for the preliminary injunction motion QCX said it would bring, with no initial status conference pending resolution of either motion unless the parties ask for one [15, 16]. QCX files that motion on October 12, with declarations, a proposed order and a letter motion for oral argument [16]. On October 16 two notices in the federal government's suit list exhibits titled "Interim Final Rule" and "Notice of Proposed Rulemaking" [18].

What is not documented

No New York-specific primary record naming PredictIt or Robinhood was located as of October 20, 2026, so this page draws no conclusion about either: a docket search across the four New York federal districts returned one federal case for PredictIt [11] and, for Robinhood, no case in which it is a party with the Attorney General or the Gaming Commission [12]. Each search repeats on the next review date, a review date and not a promise that a record will exist by then. Further gaps: the docket records read for this page carry no entry showing whether the September 14, 2026 hearing in the OG matter took place, so nothing is said about it; several newer entries, including the Ludlow Exchange notices, OG's letter of October 2, the October 16 notices in the federal government's suit and letters of October 19 in both QCX matters, carry titles only, so their contents are not described; and New York's state-court filing system refused automated requests on October 20, 2026, so the state court's own entries in the Kalshi and QCX files are not described here. No notice from Kalshi or Polymarket naming New York access was located, and no release on the Attorney General's press page after September 24, 2026 names a prediction-market operator [7].

What happens next

The appellees' brief in Second Circuit No. 26-1835 is due October 30, 2026; no argument date appears on that docket [6]. In both QCX matters the next step is the briefing schedule Judge Abrams asked the parties to propose on October 9, 2026, and no date for it appears in the docket record read on October 20, 2026 [15, 16]. Nothing in 1:26-cv-06550 sets a date for a decision on the state's remand motion [4], and no decision date is set on the preliminary injunction motions in 1:26-cv-04980, 1:26-cv-06676, 1:26-cv-03404 or 1:26-cv-08345 [8, 9, 16, 18]. Filings are covered as they land in the news section.

What this page does not do

This page is not legal advice, and it is not a conclusion. It reports what primary documents say, who filed them and when, and stops there: no view on the merit of any argument, no forecast of any ruling, and nothing on how New York treats proceeds from event contracts for tax purposes, because no primary source on that question is in the reviewed record. Practical questions about using an exchange from New York belong in the guides, which defer to this page for standing. This page is reviewed every 14 days and again after any filing, ruling, regulator action or platform notice. Where this page is wrong, or has missed a document, the correction is made on this page and carries its own date.