Polymarket is introducing deposit limits, voluntary self-exclusion and access to mental health resources as the prediction market platform faces increased scrutiny from lawmakers over consumer protections, state gambling laws and suspicious trading.
The measures allow traders to set daily, weekly and monthly deposit limits. Any reduction will take effect immediately, while increasing or removing a limit will be subject to a “cooling-off period,” according to the company. Users can also voluntarily exclude themselves from Polymarket for 30 days, one year, or for life.
The changes come as prediction markets have grown in popularity, allowing users to wager on outcomes ranging from sporting events to elections. Unlike sportsbooks, prediction markets are classified as federally regulated financial markets and are exempt from state consumer protection laws, an arrangement that some lawmakers across 44 states are seeking to change.
New York last week filed a lawsuit against Polymarket, accusing the company of circumventing the state’s gambling regulations. Polymarket subsequently filed its own federal lawsuit, arguing that the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, rather than New York, has jurisdiction over its event contracts. New York has also sued rival prediction market Kalshi for allegedly violating state gambling laws.
Separately, Polymarket and Kalshi have faced scrutiny over insider trading, with some lawmakers calling for stronger measures to identify suspicious transactions. In April, a soldier involved in the military operation to capture Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro was charged with using classified information to make more than $400,000 by predicting the date of his capture on Polymarket.
The Senate also approved a bipartisan resolution this year aimed at preventing its own members from using prediction markets. Against that regulatory backdrop, Polymarket said that it is establishing a Trust & Safety Center where users can obtain information about the platform’s rules and safeguards.
It is also providing access to mental health resources for users experiencing compulsive trading behaviors and partnering with Birches Health, described as the largest national provider of behavioral and process addiction treatment.
“People should be able to set their own limits, step away on their own terms, and know what the rules are,” Malea Otranto, the global head of the prediction market’s Trust and Safety Center, said in a news release. “That is what launched today, and it is the floor, not the ceiling. We’re excited to continue to build out from here.”