Polymarket Adds Deposit Limits and Self-Exclusion After New York Lawsuit

The prediction market also partnered with an addiction treatment provider, one week after New York sued to shut it down and as states argue its sports contracts are gambling.

Francis Gable

01/10/26 · 2 minOctober 1, 2026 · 2 min read

Polymarket rolled out deposit limits, self-exclusion and access to addiction treatment for its users on Sept. 30, one week after New York sued to shut the company down.

The tools copy what state law already demands of licensed sportsbooks. Polymarket is not required to offer them, because prediction markets are regulated as federal financial exchanges.

Yet sports and parlays made up more than 98% of September trading on Polymarket's U.S. site, according to data firm TickerTracker.

Polymarket Lets Traders Cap Deposits and Step Away

Under the company's announcement, traders can lock themselves out for 30 days, one year or for life. U.S. users can cap deposits daily, weekly or monthly across every funding method.

Lowering a limit takes effect at once. Raising or removing one only happens after a cooling-off period, so a player who wants more room to bet has to wait for it.

Polymarket also partnered with Birches Health, a virtual addiction treatment provider. Users showing what the company calls "compulsive financial trading behaviors" will be pointed to its care inside the app and through customer support.

"People should be able to set their own limits, step away on their own terms, and know what the rules are."

Malea Otranto, who heads trust and safety at Polymarket, said in the release that the launch "is the floor, not the ceiling."

Critics Question Whether Bettors Will Use the Tools

Jonathan Cohen, who leads gambling policy at the American Institute for Boys and Men, told CNN that state regulator data show few sportsbook customers use similar tools. Gaming lawyer Joshua Kirschner told CNN the measures may also be "a nod to try to pacify state regulators."

A coalition of 44 states has argued in court that prediction platforms should be regulated like gambling. Polymarket denies wrongdoing in the New York lawsuit and has countersued the state in federal court.

Otranto told CNN that Polymarket will track how often the tools are used and may adjust them. The announcement does not say whether those usage figures will ever be made public.

Treat gambling as entertainment you pay for. 18+, and if it stops feeling like entertainment, help exists at BeGambleAware and GamCare.