Polymarket has introduced a new set of consumer protection and responsible-trading measures as prediction markets face growing scrutiny from US lawmakers and regulators.
The platform now allows users to set deposit limits, voluntarily exclude themselves from trading and access mental health resources for compulsive financial trading behavior. Polymarket is also expanding its Trust & Safety operations and introducing a dedicated center covering user protection, market integrity and platform rules.
The changes come as prediction markets continue to expand rapidly across the United States. Platforms such as Polymarket and Kalshi allow users to trade contracts linked to sports, elections, entertainment, economic indicators and other events.
At the same time, regulators and state officials are increasingly questioning whether these products should receive the same consumer protections that apply to traditional gambling.
Polymarket Introduces Deposit Limits
One of the main new features allows US users to set limits on how much they can deposit into Polymarket.
Users can establish daily, weekly or monthly deposit limits across their available funding methods. The system is designed to give traders more control over their spending and reduce the possibility of chasing losses.
The rules include a cooling-off mechanism.
Reducing a deposit limit takes effect immediately, while increasing or completely removing a limit requires users to wait before the change becomes active. This prevents traders from immediately reversing a restriction they have just established.
The approach resembles responsible-gambling tools already used by licensed sportsbooks and online casinos.
However, Polymarket describes the feature as part of its broader responsible trading framework rather than responsible gambling.
Self-Exclusion Becomes Available
Polymarket has also introduced voluntary self-exclusion.
Users can now block themselves from the platform for different periods, including:
| Self-exclusion option | Duration |
|---|---|
| Temporary exclusion | 30 days |
| Extended exclusion | 1 year |
| Permanent exclusion | Lifetime |
The feature is intended for users who believe they need to step away from prediction-market trading.
Self-exclusion is another tool commonly associated with regulated gambling. Traditional sportsbooks and casinos use similar systems to allow customers to prevent themselves from accessing gambling services for predetermined periods.
Polymarket’s adoption of the mechanism reflects the growing overlap between prediction markets and conventional betting from a consumer-protection perspective, even though the products are subject to a different regulatory framework in the US.
Partnership With a Mental Health Provider
Polymarket is also expanding access to support for users experiencing what it describes as compulsive financial trading behavior.
The company has partnered with Birches Health, a US provider specialising in behavioral and process addiction treatment.
The service is available across all 50 US states and provides resources including clinical assessments, individual recovery plans and ongoing treatment. Polymarket plans to make relevant resources available through the platform and customer support interactions.
The company is also developing educational materials designed to help users identify potentially problematic trading behavior and understand the protection tools available to them.
Polymarket Builds a New Trust & Safety Center
The new safeguards are part of a broader expansion of Polymarket’s Trust & Safety operations.
The company is launching a centralized Trust & Safety Center where users can find information about platform rules, market integrity and consumer protection.
Polymarket is also publishing community guidelines and content moderation standards covering areas such as market comments, chat, profiles, Squads and its Discord community.
The company says the initiative will cover both its US and international platforms.
Malea Otranto, Polymarket’s global head of safety, said the immediate priority was putting the new tools in the hands of the millions of people using the platform.
Why Is Polymarket Adding Gambling-Style Safeguards?
The timing of the announcement is significant.
Prediction markets have experienced rapid growth, with users increasingly trading contracts connected to sports, elections, entertainment and other real-world events. The expansion has attracted attention from both financial regulators and state gambling authorities.
Unlike conventional sportsbooks, prediction markets are generally structured as financial markets and operate under federal oversight rather than the state-by-state gambling licensing system.
That distinction is at the center of an ongoing regulatory dispute.
Critics argue that prediction markets can expose consumers to risks similar to those associated with gambling and should therefore be subject to comparable protections. Polymarket and other prediction-market companies have maintained that their products are financial contracts rather than traditional bets.
The new safeguards do not resolve that legal question, but they introduce several mechanisms traditionally associated with responsible gambling into a financial-market platform.
New York Challenges Polymarket’s Business Model
The announcement also comes shortly after a major legal dispute between Polymarket and New York authorities.
On September 24, New York Attorney General Letitia James and Governor Kathy Hochul announced a lawsuit against Polymarket, alleging that the company’s prediction-market platform operates as an illegal and unlicensed gambling business in the state.
The New York Attorney General’s office argued that the platform exposes consumers, including people under the state’s legal gambling age, to financial risks. The lawsuit seeks to stop Polymarket from operating as an unlicensed gambling business in New York and requests financial penalties and other remedies.
Polymarket disputes the characterization of its platform as illegal gambling.
The legal battle illustrates the broader conflict between federal regulation of event contracts and state efforts to apply gambling laws to prediction markets.
Prediction Markets Face Growing Regulatory Pressure
Polymarket’s new safeguards arrive at a time when the entire prediction-market sector is facing increased scrutiny.
Polymarket and rival platform Kalshi have become increasingly prominent as consumers look for ways to trade contracts linked to events beyond traditional financial markets.
The rapid expansion has also raised questions about:
- consumer protection;
- responsible trading;
- market manipulation;
- access by younger users;
- advertising practices;
- the distinction between trading and gambling;
- and the division of authority between federal and state regulators.
The debate is particularly significant because prediction markets can cover subjects that traditionally belong to the sports betting, casino or entertainment sectors.
For example, users may trade contracts connected to sporting events, elections, awards shows and other outcomes. This broad range of markets has helped prediction platforms attract users beyond the traditional financial-market audience.
Polymarket’s New Safeguards vs Traditional Sportsbook Tools
The new measures make Polymarket’s user-protection system increasingly similar to tools found at regulated sportsbooks.
| Feature | Polymarket | Traditional sportsbooks |
|---|---|---|
| Deposit limits | Yes | Common |
| Self-exclusion | Yes | Common |
| Cooling-off periods | Yes | Common |
| Addiction support | Birches Health partnership | Available through various providers |
| Trust & Safety framework | New dedicated center | Standard in regulated markets |
| Regulatory model | Federal financial-market framework | State gambling regulation |
However, the existence of similar tools does not mean that Polymarket and sportsbooks are regulated in the same way.
Polymarket’s new system is currently presented as a voluntary consumer-protection initiative, while sportsbooks operating under state gambling licences are generally subject to mandatory responsible-gambling requirements.
What Happens Next?
Polymarket’s decision to introduce these measures could become an important development in the debate over how prediction markets should be regulated in the United States.
For the company, the new safeguards provide users with mechanisms to control their activity while regulators and lawmakers continue to debate the industry’s legal status.
For state gambling authorities, however, voluntary tools may not resolve concerns over whether prediction markets should be subject to state-level consumer-protection rules.
The legal situation is still developing. New York’s lawsuit against Polymarket is one of several disputes shaping the relationship between prediction markets, federal financial regulation and state gambling laws.
For now, Polymarket is moving ahead with a responsible-trading framework that includes deposit controls, self-exclusion, addiction-support resources and expanded Trust & Safety operations.
The measures bring prediction markets closer to the consumer-protection model already familiar to the online gambling industry, while the legal debate over whether these platforms are financial markets or gambling services continues.
Source: https://edition.cnn.com/2026/09/30/business/polymarket-safeguards
