CFTC tells Polymarket to pull Mahomes availability contract

Polymarket withdrew a self-certified market on Patrick Mahomes' participation in the Kansas City Chiefs' Week 1 regular-season game after the Commodity Futures Trading Commission asked the platform to remove it, according to a source at the company.

Polymarket filed the contract on a Tuesday. It withdrew the filing the following day. The company told ESPN it acted to remain in full compliance with the CFTC and that it continues to engage the regulator on its broader contract offerings.

The CFTC also contacted at least one other prediction market operator about player availability contracts, according to a source familiar with those discussions. The NFL has separately argued that such markets should be prohibited.

The action matters beyond this single contract. When the CFTC speaks to a designated contract market outside a formal rulemaking, the relevant legal standard is whether the agency has identified a contract as contrary to the public interest under 7 U.S.C. § 7(d)(1) of the Commodity Exchange Act — a determination that does not require notice-and-comment and carries immediate compliance weight.