Polymarket Review 2026: ActionTrust Rating & Full Breakdown

Polymarket is one of the best prediction market apps currently available in the United States. The table below highlights the key details you should know before signing up, including its launch year, operating model, parent company, available states, age requirement, supported market categories, payment methods, withdrawal options, and more.

Action Network scores the Polymarket US app a 9.6 out of 10 (Outstanding), under our ActionTrust prediction markets framework.

Polymarket earns high marks for its federal regulatory standing, transparent fee structure, and the sheer breadth of what you can trade beyond sports.

That being said, Polymarket has some room for improvement. The U.S. version's market selection remains narrower than competitors in some categories, and it's mobile-only with no desktop option. Once Polymarket brings all of its features to the U.S. market, it will be an even more competitive exchange.

Polymarket is a CFTC-regulated financial exchange, not a traditional sportsbook.

Instead of betting against "the hose," you buy and sell event contract shares priced between 1¢ to 99¢. Prices are based on the probability of a real-world outcome.

Yes, Polymarket's U.S. version is a legitimate, federally regulated exchange.

Polymarket US operates as a Designated Contract Market (DCM), secured through its $112 million acquisition of QCX, LLC in July 2025.

Polymarket is registered with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), meaning it can legally operate as a prediction market for U.S. users. The desktop version of Polymarket currently does not fall under CFTC regulation.

By law, Polymarket cannot use customer deposits for its own operating expenses. Funds are held in a regulated clearinghouse, keeping your balance legally protected and available for withdrawal.

Polymarket requires standard KYC identity verification for all users, along with institutional-grade encryption and mandatory two-factor authentication.

Contracts resolve using official league data (Sportradar powers MLB markets) and verified news sources for non-sports markets. Every contract lists its Resolution Source before you trade it, and once a market resolves, backend smart contracts settle trades automatically.

Polymarket has also implemented insider trading guardrails, blocking athletes, coaches, and political candidates from trading on events they can influence, along with a whistleblower tool available directly on market pages.

Polymarket is a prediction market that allows users to buy and sell shares based on the outcomes of real-world events. Instead of betting against a sportsbook or bookmaker, users trade directly with one another in a peer-to-peer marketplace.

Share prices range from 1¢ to 99¢, with the price reflecting the market's estimated probability of a particular outcome. As new information becomes available, prices fluctuate to reflect changing expectations.

In addition to traditional Yes/No markets, Polymarket also offers multi-outcome markets, allowing users to predict events such as who will win the next U.S. presidential election or which company will release the leading AI model.

Polymarket shows pricing two ways: as an implied probability percentage and as a payout multiplier.

For example, imagine a market where Team A is priced to win at 43% and Team B at 57%. Polymarket displays those as roughly a 2.3x multiplier for Team A and a 1.7x multiplier for Team B.

If you buy $10 worth of Team A shares and Team A wins, your total payout (including your original $10 stake) comes out to roughly $23 ($10 times the 2.3x multiplier).

You don't have to hold a position until the event ends.

If the probability shifts in your favor, you can sell your shares right then to lock in a profit. Many traders sell early to prevent losing their profit, as events can quickly fall back out of your favor.

Polymarket offers both a Market Order (buy instantly at the current price) and a Limit Order (set your own target price and wait for a match).

The app also shows the full order book, so you can see exactly what other traders are bidding and asking before you place a trade. Once you enter the amount you want to buy, a swipe-to-buy gesture confirms the trade.

Yes, Polymarket is legal in the United States and operates under the oversight of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). As a result, the platform is available in most U.S. states, although access is restricted in certain jurisdictions due to state-specific regulations.

Currently, Polymarket is legally available in the following states: AK, AL, AR, CA, CO, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, HI, IA, ID, IN, KS, KY, LA, ME, MN, MO, MS, NC, ND, NE, NH, NJ, NM, NY, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA, VT, WA, WI, WV, and WY.

Signing up takes just a few steps, and the process is entirely app-based.

1. Download the app. Tap our links to download the official Polymarket U.S. app. No desktop version is available for U.S. traders at this time.
2. Create an account with your Google or Apple ID. You must use existing Google or Apple logins to create a Polymarket account.
3. Enter bonus code. Enter Polymarket promo code ACTION when prompted to qualify for the welcome offer. 
4. Verify your identity. Standard KYC verification is required before you can deposit.
5. Fund your account. Deposit at least $10 to your account to qualify for the welcome bonus.

See the key differences between Polymarket and traditional sportsbooks in this table:

Polymarket's current signup offer is: Deposit $10, Get a $20 Trading Bonus!

You must enter code ACTION to qualify.

See our Polymarket Promo Code guide for the current offer, full terms, and how to claim it.

Action Network has tested the Polymarket app for ourselves. Here are some of our key findings:

Polymarket's U.S. version is app-only and there's currently no desktop trading option for U.S. users, unlike Kalshi.

The app is built around four simple tabs:

• Home
• Live (to track markets resolving in real time)
• Portfolio (to track your open contracts)
• Search

Markets are organized into specific categories rather than broad umbrella groups. Instead of one general "Sports" category, you'll find separate categories like Tennis and MLB, alongside Politics, Temperature, Tech, Econ, Chess, Culture, and Crypto.

That narrower categorization can make browsing feel a little less organized than it could be, mostly because the overall number of active markets is still somewhat limited compared to more established platforms.

The Polymarket app for iOS users has a 4.6 out of 5 stars on the App Store.

We’d like to see the Android rating higher, the Google Play Store shows an average rating of 3.8 out of 5 stars.

In our experience, lower ratings for Android versions of prediction market apps is common. But we’d like to see Polymarket improve its deposit and withdrawal processes per complaints among Android users. Creating a better experience is especially important for Polymarket when considering that it is app-only for right now.

Check out the pros and cons of Polymarket:

Polymarket's category list goes well beyond sports, even if some categories are still thin on the number of active markets.

Individual sport categories like Tennis and MLB rather than one combined Sports bucket, with moneyline-style and prop-style contracts on game outcomes.

Elections, legislative outcomes, and geopolitical events — historically Polymarket's strongest category by trading volume.

Fed rate decisions, inflation data, and other economic indicators.

Award shows, box office performance, tech milestones, daily temperature markets, and Bitcoin and Ethereum price levels round out the rest of the category list, alongside niche categories like Chess.

Worth calling out specifically: Polymarket doesn't charge any fee on geopolitical and world event markets, unlike every other category.

Polymarket only charges a fee to the side of a trade that takes liquidity immediately. Makers, traders whose resting orders get filled by someone else, are never charged a fee.

If your order fills right away against one already sitting on the book, you pay a taker fee. The rate depends on which category you're trading in.

The fee amount peaks at 50¢ (maximum uncertainty) and shrinks symmetrically toward the price extremes. For example, in the Sports category, a 100-share trade at 50¢ costs $0.75 in fees, while the same trade at 10¢ or 90¢ costs only $0.27.

There is no maker fee on Polymarket. In fact, makers are paid, not charged: taker fees fund a daily rebate paid out to market makers, ranging from 20% (Crypto) to 25% (most other categories) of the fees collected that day.

There's no membership fee and no settlement fee. Polymarket also doesn't charge anything to deposit or withdraw USDC, though a payment intermediary like Coinbase may apply its own fee.

While Polymarket doesn’t directly charge deposit and withdrawal fees, you may incur these fees from third-party payment providers. 

Polymarket's U.S. version has moved away from a crypto-heavy funding model to support standard banking methods.

No matter which method you use, funds are automatically converted to and held as USDC, a stablecoin pegged 1-to-1 to the U.S. dollar, so your balance doesn't fluctuate with crypto market swings. Credit cards are not accepted.

Here's how Polymarket compares to two other prediction market apps.

Polymarket's biggest gap next to Kalshi is the lack of a desktop platform. See our full Kalshi vs. Polymarket comparison for a deeper breakdown.

Against FanDuel Predicts, Polymarket offers real political market coverage, which FanDuel Predicts doesn't have.

Polymarket has struck several partnerships to grow its footprint since going regulated in the U.S.

MLB signed an exclusive multi-year deal with Polymarket in March 2026, giving it sole rights to official team names, logos, and Sportradar league data for baseball markets.

Polymarket also has partnerships with the NHL, UFC, MLS, and BLAST (esports).

Check out Polymarket’s highlights over the years: 

• June 2020: Polymarket launches as a decentralized, Polygon-based exchange
• January 2022: Polymarket settles with the CFTC over unregistered swaps and exits the U.S. market
• July 2025: Polymarket acquires QCX, LLC for $112 million, securing CFTC Designated Contract Market status
• August 2025: 1789 Capital leads a funding round; Donald Trump Jr. joins Polymarket's advisory board
• October 2025: ICE (NYSE's parent company) invests $2 billion in Polymarket; direct Bitcoin deposits go live
• December 2025: Polymarket US begins a regulated beta launch under CFTC oversight
• January 2026: MLS partners with Polymarket to integrate live trading data into match broadcasts
• March 2026: Polymarket acquires DeFi infrastructure startup Brahma, reaches a $20 billion valuation, and signs its exclusive MLB partnership
• May 2026: Polymarket removes its waitlist, opening full access to eligible U.S. users

Polymarket issues Form 1099 for U.S. traders, and profits are generally treated as taxable income.

We recommend consulting a tax professional for guidance specific to your situation.

As a federally regulated exchange, Polymarket operates under CFTC-mandated user protection standards.

Insider trading guardrails launched in March 2026 block athletes, coaches, and political candidates from trading on events they can influence, and a whistleblower tool is available directly on market pages to flag suspicious activity.

Responsible trading tools aren’t available yet on the Polymarket app, but they should become available soon.

See our responsible trading guide for more, and call 1-888-532-3500 if you need support.

Polymarket has several customer service options available: