Polymarket Vermont: A Three-Operator State Meets a Platform With None

Polymarket Vermont sits in an odd spot: this is a state that only just legalized any form of sports wagering, capped it at a handful of licensed operators, and is now debating whether to undo even that. Polymarket has no license here, no cease-and-desist either, and the Department of Liquor and Lottery that runs Vermont's tiny regulated market has never said a word about it.

Legal status in Vermont

Vermont was the last New England state to legalize any form of sports wagering, doing it narrowly. Gov. Phil Scott signed Act 63 (H.127) in June 2023, authorizing online-only sports betting through the Department of Liquor and Lottery (DLL), which ran a competitive bid and picked just three operators — DraftKings, FanDuel, and Fanatics Sportsbook — out of a statutory range of two to six. Betting went live January 11, 2024, restricted to bettors 21 or older physically located in Vermont, with DLL empowered to negotiate each operator's revenue share individually rather than apply one fixed tax rate; DraftKings and Fanatics agreed to 31%, FanDuel to 33%, among the highest effective sports-betting tax rates in the country. Nothing in Act 63 or DLL's licensing structure contemplates a CFTC-regulated event-contract exchange — Polymarket has no DLL license, has never applied for one, and isn't the kind of entity the statute's bidding process was built to evaluate in the first place. Outside that narrow sports-betting law, Vermont's general gambling law is 13 V.S.A. Chapter 51, which separately criminalizes setting up or promoting a lottery (Section 2101) and fines both the winner and the loser of a wagered game between $10 and $200 (Section 2141), with a carve-out for nonprofit raffles and games of chance under Section 2143. No Vermont court, the Attorney General's office, or DLL has ever applied Chapter 51 to Polymarket or Kalshi, and Vermont has filed no lawsuit or cease-and-desist against either platform — unlike Rhode Island, New York, Massachusetts, and Kentucky, all of which sued in the same 2025-2026 window. Vermont did join the coalition of 44 state attorneys general who told the CFTC in July 2026 that it lacks authority to preempt state gambling law over sports event contracts, signaling institutional skepticism without any Vermont-specific enforcement behind it. Meanwhile the state's own appetite for regulated wagering is genuinely unsettled: Reps. Thomas Stevens, Troy Headrick, and Michael Mrowicki introduced H.133 in February 2025 to repeal Act 63 and the state lottery outright, months after sports betting had launched. It has sat in the Committee on Government Operations and Military Affairs with no floor vote as of this writing — legislative trackers call it unlikely to pass given the revenue at stake — but its mere existence shows a legislature actively second-guessing the wagering it just legalized, not one about to write new rules to bring prediction markets inside the tent. Polymarket US, run by QCX LLC under CFTC designation, is the rail reachable from a Vermont address; the international polymarket.com site remains geo-blocked to all US IPs, Vermont included, under the 2022 CFTC settlement.

State gambling authority: Vermont Department of Liquor and Lottery licenses only DraftKings, FanDuel, and Fanatics Sportsbook under Act 63 (H.127); it has issued no guidance on prediction markets, and neither DLL nor the Attorney General has taken action against Kalshi or Polymarket

Vermont did not rush into legal wagering. It was the last New England state to allow any of it, capped the market at a handful of operators by law, and just over a year after launch, three state representatives filed a bill to repeal the whole thing. That is the backdrop Polymarket Vermont sits against — not a state cracking down on prediction markets specifically, but one that has not made up its mind about wagering in general.

A Market Built to Stay Small

Act 63, signed by Gov. Phil Scott in June 2023, let the Department of Liquor and Lottery run a competitive bid and license anywhere from two to six sportsbooks — not the wide-open field most states approved. DLL picked three: DraftKings, FanDuel, and Fanatics Sportsbook. Betting went live January 11, 2024, restricted to bettors 21 or older physically in Vermont. Instead of one flat tax, DLL negotiated each operator's revenue share individually. DraftKings and Fanatics landed at 31%, FanDuel at 33% — among the steepest effective rates any state charges a sportsbook.

Polymarket was never in this process. Act 63's bidding structure was built to evaluate sportsbook operators against a fixed license count. Polymarket has not applied for a DLL license, isn't structured as a sportsbook, and the statute has no category for a CFTC-designated event-contract exchange to fit into either way.

Is Polymarket Legal in Vermont? The General Law Is Older and Vaguer

Outside Act 63, Vermont's gambling law is 13 V.S.A. Chapter 51 — older, broader, and never updated for event contracts. Section 2101 criminalizes setting up or promoting a lottery; Section 2141 fines both the winner and the loser of a wagered game between $10 and $200; Section 2143 carves out nonprofit raffles and games of chance. None of it names prediction markets, sports event contracts, Kalshi, or Polymarket, and no Vermont prosecutor or court has tried to make it reach them.

Vermont Hasn't Sued — and Might Not Even Keep Its Sportsbooks

Rhode Island, New York, Massachusetts, and Kentucky have all sued or won injunctions against Kalshi and Polymarket since late 2025, arguing event contracts are unlicensed sports wagering under state law. Vermont has filed nothing. It did join 44 state attorneys general in a July 2026 letter telling the CFTC it lacks authority to preempt state gambling law — a position, not a lawsuit. At the same time, Reps. Thomas Stevens, Troy Headrick, and Michael Mrowicki filed H.133 in February 2025 to repeal Act 63 and the state lottery entirely. It has stalled in the Committee on Government Operations and Military Affairs with no floor vote, and trackers consider it unlikely to pass given the revenue at stake — but a legislature arguing over whether to keep DraftKings licensed is not a legislature about to write new rules for Polymarket.

Where things actually stand in Vermont:

3 licensed sportsbooks (DraftKings, FanDuel, Fanatics) under Act 63 — Polymarket isn't one
No DLL guidance, cease-and-desist, or AG action against Kalshi or Polymarket
Vermont signed the 44-state CFTC letter (July 2026) but hasn't sued either platform
H.133, a bill to repeal Act 63 and the lottery, stalled in committee since February 2025
Polymarket US remains reachable from Vermont IPs as of this writing

Is Polymarket Legit and Safe in Vermont?

Legit: Polymarket US (QCX LLC) runs the same CFTC-designated, KYC'd exchange in Vermont as everywhere else, and nothing in Vermont records alleges a bad payout — there is simply no state record on it either way. Safe: an account opens today with nothing blocking a Vermont IP, but the protections Act 63 built for its three licensed operators — DLL oversight, a 21-plus age floor, a bidding process that vetted each book — do not extend to a platform the agency has never reviewed.

A state deciding whether to keep sports betting legal at all is not a state that has settled anything about prediction markets, and event contracts can still expire worthless regardless of how either question resolves. This is not a way to make money. 21+ only, and the Vermont Department of Mental Health's problem gambling line, 802-828-0472, is free.

Polymarket Vermont — Frequently Asked Questions

Is Polymarket legal in Vermont?

Unsettled, not settled either way. Vermont's only licensed wagering product is online sports betting under Act 63, limited by statute to two to six operators and currently held by just three — DraftKings, FanDuel, and Fanatics. Polymarket isn't part of that license and was never evaluated for one. Vermont's general gambling law, 13 V.S.A. Chapter 51, hasn't been applied to it by any prosecutor or court, and no cease-and-desist has gone out.

Why does Vermont only have three sportsbook apps?

Act 63 let the Department of Liquor and Lottery run a competitive bid and cap the market anywhere from two to six operators rather than open it to everyone. DLL picked DraftKings, FanDuel, and Fanatics Sportsbook, each negotiating its own revenue share instead of paying a flat tax — DraftKings and Fanatics settled on 31%, FanDuel on 33%. That bidding structure has no lane for a CFTC-regulated exchange like Polymarket, which isn't a sportsbook applying for a license in the first place.

Is Polymarket legit in Vermont?

As a company, the answer doesn't change by state: Polymarket US (QCX LLC) operates under CFTC designation with KYC and dollar settlement. What it isn't is DLL-approved — the agency that vetted DraftKings, FanDuel, and Fanatics through a formal bid process has never reviewed or certified Polymarket at all.

Is Polymarket safe to use from Vermont right now?

Mechanically, yes — no Vermont court order or DLL action blocks a Vermont IP from opening a Polymarket US account, unlike the injunctions in place in Massachusetts or the lawsuits filed in Rhode Island and New York. But the consumer protections built into Act 63 — DLL licensing, a 21-plus age floor, oversight of the three approved operators — don't extend to a platform sitting entirely outside that structure.

Is Vermont trying to get rid of legal sports betting altogether?

There's a live bill for it. Reps. Thomas Stevens, Troy Headrick, and Michael Mrowicki filed H.133 in February 2025 to repeal Act 63 and the state lottery, just over a year after sports betting launched. It has stalled in committee with no floor vote and is considered unlikely to pass because of the revenue involved, but it shows Vermont's legislature is not currently in an expansion mood — for sportsbooks or, by extension, for writing rules that would formally address prediction markets.

Has Vermont sued Kalshi or Polymarket the way other states have?

No. Rhode Island, New York, Massachusetts, and Kentucky have all filed suits or won injunctions against Kalshi and/or Polymarket in 2025-2026 arguing their event contracts are unlicensed sports wagering. Vermont's Attorney General has taken no equivalent action, though the state did sign the July 2026 multistate letter telling the CFTC it lacks authority to preempt state gambling law — a position statement, not a case.

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