Three prediction market companies stop operating in Connecticut
Three prediction market companies have stopped operating in Connecticut after Governor Ned Lamont announced cease-and-desist orders targeting event-contract platforms. The Department of Consumer Protection confirmed the exits and said it is in communication with six remaining operators still active: Polymarket, Coinbase, Crypto.com, Robinhood, Novig and Underdog. The state did not name the three companies that exited. In December, Connecticut's gaming division had issued a cease-and-desist order to Kalshi. Lamont announced the broader enforcement action at a press conference at Fanatics Sports Book in Hartford.
Connecticut's enforcement widens the map of states treating CFTC-registered platforms as unlicensed gambling operators. The six remaining operators now face a familiar choice: absorb geofencing costs or risk state penalties. For Polymarket, Coinbase, Robinhood and the others still active, Connecticut becomes another jurisdiction where federal registration does not guarantee access. Each state that copies this approach deepens the patchwork traders must navigate.
The platforms spared so far are not safe; the Department of Consumer Protection's ongoing communication suggests further scrutiny. Connecticut's framing of event contracts as gambling, not derivatives, reinforces the state-level theory Ohio and Tennessee courts already accepted. The next operator to retreat quietly will reduce liquidity without a public fight, making the attrition harder to track than courtroom losses.