CFTC reopens probe into Polymarket over compliance with 2022 settlement

Polymarket is under a new investigation by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission over whether it complied with a 2022 settlement that required it to keep US users out of its offshore market, Reuters reported on 27 October 2026, citing two people familiar with the matter. The probe examines how Polymarket determined customer location, its advertising in the United States, and the onboarding and protections for the US platform it began rolling out late last year.

Scope of the inquiry

Reuters said the review of whether Polymarket kept US users out focuses on controls and prior processes. Questions about compliance with the 2022 settlement are part of a broader CFTC investigation opened in early 2026, the report added. Spokespeople for the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Polymarket and the Department of Justice declined to comment to Reuters, and none had issued a public statement at the time of publication. For background on the regulatory framework, see [regulation](/regulation).

The 2022 settlement and Polymarket’s response

In January 2022 Polymarket resolved CFTC charges for offering binary-event options without registering as an exchange, paying a civil penalty of $1.4 million and agreeing to shut markets that did not comply with the Commodity Exchange Act. As part of that agreement, Polymarket consented to stop serving US users, Reuters reported.

The CFTC had already probed Polymarket’s compliance with that settlement in the run-up to the 2024 election, in parallel with a Department of Justice inquiry; the FBI searched CEO Shayne Coplan’s home in New York in November 2024. Both agencies closed those inquiries in July 2025 without filing charges.

Operational changes and linked cases

After the settlement, Polymarket acquired a CFTC-authorised derivatives exchange and used it to launch its US business. The company has said it revised controls, bans VPNs and similar mechanisms used to bypass geographic restrictions, and monitors for illicit behaviour. Shana Bautista, Polymarket’s global director of investigations and intelligence, told Reuters in August that US users evading those restrictions were not “a really prevalent issue.” This operational shift is relevant to the platform and product changes in the sector — see [b2b](/b2b).

A related criminal case arrived in April when Gannon Ken Van Dyke, a US service member, was charged by the CFTC and the Department of Justice for allegedly earning $400,000 from trades based on inside information on Polymarket’s offshore site; the indictment says he accessed the platform via a VPN. Van Dyke pleaded not guilty. Polymarket said it referred the matter to authorities.

Recent moves and legal context

The Reuters report appeared days after Polymarket removed its chief marketing officer, Matthew Modabber, according to another report, and less than two weeks after the company sued the state of Ohio in federal court challenging new CFTC rules. Reuters noted the new details raise questions about why prior inquiries were closed and reminded readers that an investigation does not necessarily imply illegal conduct. Related coverage appears in our [news](/news) section.