Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway has ordered six prediction market operators – Polymarket, Kalshi, Crypto.com, Novig, Underdog and Robinhood – to stop offering sports event contracts in the state or confirm compliance with Missouri’s sports wagering laws within 30 days. Hanaway’s office maintains the contracts amount to unlicensed sports wagering, not the financial derivatives the companies claim to offer, and no monetary penalty has been reported at this stage.
The cease-and-desist letters accuse Polymarket, Kalshi, Crypto.com, Underdog and Robinhood of allowing younger users onto their platforms or lacking adequate safeguards to keep Missourians under 21 from participating. The Novig letter does not include the same age-related allegation, according to Hanaway’s office. All six letters require the operators to comply with state sports-wagering law, including applicable taxes and fees, if they want to keep operating in Missouri.
Compliance Window and Consequences
Under the terms of the letters, the companies may continue operating in Missouri only if they obtain a license from the Missouri Gaming Commission and meet tax and fee obligations. The five operators flagged over age controls must also demonstrate compliance with the state’s 21-and-over wagering minimum. Hanaway’s office said failure to comply within the 30-day window will result in enforcement action, though the letters do not specify a fine schedule or license-revocation process.
Missouri’s regulatory framework stems from Amendment 2, approved by voters in 2024, which legalized sports betting under Missouri Gaming Commission oversight. The regulated market launched December 1, 2025, permitting wagering through licensed mobile platforms and physical locations, with a 10% tax on gross sports-betting receipts. Initial and five-year renewal licensing fees can run as high as $500,000, with revenue supporting education and the state’s Compulsive Gaming Prevention Fund.
A Widening Federal-State Fight
Hanaway’s office argues the Commodity Exchange Act does not preempt Missouri law and that sports event contracts do not qualify as swaps under exclusive federal jurisdiction, citing federal court decisions that have kept online sports-wagering platforms subject to state gambling law. Robinhood disputed that characterization, saying its event contracts are federally regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission through Robinhood Derivatives, LLC. Polymarket similarly maintained its markets fall under a federal CFTC framework rather than a patchwork of state rules.
The clash echoes Connecticut’s earlier order against prediction-market operators and sits within the broader split among federal courts over whether these contracts are gambling products or regulated derivatives. Missouri’s attorney general said the state remains open to legislative changes but expects the six operators to comply with existing law or cease sports-wagering products for Missouri users in the meantime.
Source: Yogonet International
When he is not analysing the latest compliance updates or dissecting quarterly operator results, Florian follows Bundesliga football closely and maintains a healthy skepticism toward anyone claiming to have cracked a winning betting system. He brings a grounded, insider-aware perspective to his writing and is always more interested in the structural story behind the headline than the headline itself.