Posted inInvestigations

Prediction Markets Up Against Illinois’ Century-Old Gambling Law in Series of Lawsuits

Class-action lawsuits against prediction market platforms like Polymarket and Kalshi seek to make the financial giants pony up for bettors’ losses in Illinois and other states. The platforms continue to argue what they’re doing is perfectly legal.

by Casey Toner March 13, 2026March 12, 2026

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Prediction Markets Up Against Illinois’ Century-Old Gambling Law in Series of Lawsuits

by Casey Toner, Illinois Answers Project
March 13, 2026

<h1>Prediction Markets Up Against Illinois’ Century-Old Gambling Law in Series of Lawsuits</h1>
<p class="byline">by Casey Toner, Illinois Answers Project <br />March 13, 2026</p>
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Prediction markets like Kalshi and Polymarket operate in a legal gray area, with federal regulators blessing their operations but with many states, including Illinois, crying foul.

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Tagged: prediction markets

Casey Toner

ctoner@illinoisanswers.org

Casey Toner, a Chicago native, has been an Illinois Answers reporter since 2016, taking the lead on numerous projects about criminal justice and politics. His series on police shootings in suburban Cook County resulted in a state law requiring procedural investigations of all police shootings in Illinois. Before he joined Illinois Answers, he wrote for the Daily Southtown and was a statewide reporter for Alabama Media Group, a consortium of Alabama newspapers. Outside of work, he enjoys watching soccer and writing music.

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