Our review of Polymarket is a part of Locals Insider’s series about the best prediction markets that are going viral in the USA.
Somewhere between traditional sports betting and the stock market, a new category has taken over the reading rhythms of a growing corner of US finance and news readers: prediction markets. Rather than betting on the outcome of a football game, you trade a contract that pays $1 if a specific real-world event happens — a candidate wins an election, the Fed hikes rates, Bitcoin closes above a certain price by Friday, a hurricane makes landfall in a specific state.
Prediction markets are part of the reading rhythm for a handful of our US-based contributors at Locals Insider. Some check them during morning news scans to see how the market is pricing overnight developments in the Middle East or the war in Ukraine. Some trade election contracts during campaign season. One follows the 5-minute Bitcoin markets while she watches the crypto news cycle in real time. What used to be a fringe corner of forecasting has become a mainstream way to have a small stake in the questions you’re already reading about.
That legality traces back to the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) framework — the same federal regulator that oversees futures and derivatives markets. Since late 2025, several prediction market platforms have received CFTC clearance to offer real-money event contracts to US residents, without waiting for state-by-state sports betting legalization. Among them, Polymarket is the world’s largest by user base and lifetime trading volume, and after a three-year absence from the US market, it returned in early 2026 with full regulatory approval.
If you want to try it in 2026, this is what you need to know about the platform, the current welcome offer, and how to claim it with the exclusive Locals Insider promo code LOCALS.
Claim Your $20 Bonus
What is Polymarket?
Polymarket is a CFTC-regulated prediction market where you trade Yes/No contracts on real-world events — anything from the winner of the 2026 World Cup to the next Fed rate decision, from whether Bitcoin closes above $70,000 by Friday to which country hosts the next major geopolitical development. Each contract trades between $0.01 and $0.99 and pays $1 if you’re right, $0 if you’re wrong. The price is the implied probability: if a market shows a candidate at 63¢, the market is pricing that candidate at roughly 63% to win.
Polymarket returned to the US in early 2026 after acquiring QCX LLC and QC Clearing (collectively “QCEX”), a CFTC-licensed Designated Contract Market and clearinghouse. The platform now operates through Polymarket US and Polymarket Clearing, both regulated by the CFTC as event-contract exchanges. That’s fundamentally different from a sportsbook: prediction market contracts are federally regulated financial instruments, not state-licensed gambling.
Polymarket trading app at a glance:
- Global launch: 2020 (crypto-native, on Polygon blockchain)
- US relaunch: January 5, 2026 (limited); May 12, 2026 (open to all US residents, waitlist removed)
- Regulator: US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (via QCEX exchange acquisition)
- Availability: 49 US states + Washington, DC as of August 2026 — Nevada excluded due to state gaming control board action
- Market depth: 1,000+ active markets across sports, politics, geopolitics, crypto, economy, weather, tech, culture
- Deposit currency: US dollars, automatically converted to USDC stablecoin inside your account (no crypto wallet required)
- Trading platforms: iOS app (4.7/5 from 31,000+ reviews), Android app, and web
- Minimum age: 18+ (21+ in some states)
Polymarket Bonus and Sign-Up Offer with Promo Code LOCALS
New Polymarket account holders who sign up through Locals Insider using the exclusive promo code LOCALS are eligible for a $20 trading bonus after their first deposit of $10 or more. This is Polymarket’s current standard welcome offer format across all affiliate codes.
Polymarket LOCALS promo code details
| Polymarket bonus code | LOCALS |
| Welcome offer | $20 trading bonus after your first qualifying deposit. New Polymarket account holders only, one per household, KYC-verified |
| Minimum deposit | $10 |
| Deposit methods | Debit card, bank transfer (via Aeropay), Apple Pay, Google Pay, wire transfer, USDC via MoonPay |
| Wagering requirement | 1× (industry standard, among the lowest in the category) |
| Bonus valid on | Any market on the platform — sports, politics, geopolitics, crypto, economy, weather, tech, culture |
| Minimum age | 18+ (21+ in some states) |
| Responsible trading | 1-800-GAMBLER · Prediction markets are speculative — never trade more than you can afford to lose |
How the offer works: deposit at least $10, and once you make your first qualifying trade, the $20 bonus credits to your account. You can use the $20 across any market on the platform, and the 1× wagering requirement means it’s structurally lighter than most gambling-industry welcome offers.
How to claim the LOCALS bonus at Polymarket
Registration takes about 5 minutes end-to-end, including identity verification. Here’s the full flow:
- Visit Polymarket — go directly through the Locals Insider link so the promo code is pre-attached, or download the app from the Apple App Store or Google Play
- Tap “Sign Up” — use your Apple ID, Google account, or email address
- Enter our Polymarkety new user promo code LOCALS in the invite/promo code field during registration
- Provide your details — full legal name, date of birth (18+ required), phone number, US residential address
- Complete KYC identity verification — government-issued ID upload plus proof of address. Verification is typically instant but can take up to a few hours for manual review
- Create account security — password plus optional biometric login (Face ID or fingerprint)
- Make your first deposit — minimum $10 via debit card (instant), bank transfer through Aeropay (instant, free), Apple Pay or Google Pay (instant), or wire transfer ($5,000 minimum, 1 business day). Your deposit is automatically converted to USDC stablecoin inside your account — you never need to touch crypto directly
- Place your first qualifying trade on any market
- The $20 bonus credits to your account after your first trade settles
Withdrawal note: winnings are real, withdrawable US dollars. Polymarket supports withdrawals to debit card, bank transfer (ACH via Aeropay), or wire transfer, with a $50,000 daily limit for debit and bank transfers. KYC verification is required before first withdrawal.
Polymarket Promo Code & review 2026
Polymarket Promo: Deposit $20, get $50 in trading credits
The largest absolute-dollar welcome bonus in the US prediction-market category — a 2.5x multiplier from the world’s biggest prediction platform by user base and global volume.
2.5x bonus multiplier · highest absolute-dollar value in the category
Min Deposit
$20 via debit card, bank ACH, wire or Apple Pay
Bonus Type
Non-withdrawable trading credits — must clear through trading
Bonus Expiry
30 days from issuance — use it or lose it
Qualifying Trade
1 real-money trade required before bonus credits
Trading Fees
$0 on binary market positions — lowest in category
Mobile App
iOS 4.7★ from 30,000+ reviews · Android rolling out
What you can trade on Polymarket
Polymarket runs the deepest prediction market catalog of any US-regulated platform, spanning eight major categories:
Geopolitics — the category that defines Polymarket
This is Polymarket’s flagship strength. The platform runs hundreds of active markets on international events — Ukraine (with a dedicated Ukraine Map sub-category), Iran, Israel, Lebanon, Middle East, Syria, Yemen, Turkey, Sudan, China, Taiwan, Cuba, Venezuela, India-Pakistan, Thailand-Cambodia. Markets range from major questions (“Will the Iranian regime fall by year-end?”) to specific operational contracts (“Strait of Hormuz traffic returns to normal by December 31?”). No US competitor comes close to this depth.
Sports
Full coverage of major US and international leagues: MLB, NBA, NHL, NFL, MLS, plus international soccer (Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga, Champions League, World Cup), UFC, golf, tennis, and esports. Contract types include match winners, series outcomes, championship futures, player-specific markets (Golden Boot, MVP, draft picks), and — since July 2026 — combo contracts that let you stack up to 32 legs into a single parlay-style position.
Crypto
The deepest crypto prediction catalog in the US category. Bitcoin markets alone run in 5-minute, 15-minute, hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly resolution windows. Similar depth across Ethereum, Solana, XRP, Dogecoin, and BNB. Pre-market crypto contracts number over 100 at any time.
Economy
Every Fed rate decision through 2027 trades on Polymarket, along with inflation readings, GDP prints, jobs numbers, and same-week US gas price benchmarks. Dedicated sub-feeds cover trade wars, Fed rates, inflation, macro indicators, GDP, global rates, taxes, treasuries, consumer indicators, and housing.
Politics
Every 2026 US midterm primary, House and Senate general election, and the 2028 presidential nominee race for both parties. Plus long-tail international politics — UK Labour leadership, Romanian government, French elections, Israeli premier successions.
Culture, tech, and weather
Culture markets cover Oscars, Grammys, Emmys, TV ratings, box office, celebrity outcomes. Tech runs on AI model release timing (GPT-6, Claude Mythos, Gemini), SpaceX launch counts, and Anthropic product launches. Weather markets focus on named Atlantic storms, hurricane category outcomes, and regional temperature and rainfall predictions.
8 Top features of Polymarket
1. Widest catalog in the US category. Nearly 1,000 active markets at any time across geopolitics, sports, crypto, economy, politics, culture, tech, and weather. Its geopolitics and crypto depth is unmatched by Kalshi, DraftKings Predictions, FanDuel Predicts, or Robinhood Predictions.
2. Percentage-based pricing. Every contract trades between $0.01 and $0.99, and the price is the implied probability. This is much cleaner than American-odds formats (used by DraftKings) and much more intuitive for casual users than futures notation.
3. Fee structure among the lowest in the category. Limit orders (maker orders) are 100% free — you can even earn liquidity rebates. Fees apply only to market orders (taker orders) and are dynamic based on the market category and current price, peaking at 0.75% at the 50/50 price point on sports markets. For fee-sensitive high-volume traders, this is the cheapest platform in the US category.
4. USDC stablecoin balance with no crypto wallet required. Deposit dollars via debit card, ACH, Apple Pay, or wire transfer. Polymarket automatically converts to USDC (a US-dollar-pegged stablecoin) inside your account. You never see crypto pricing, you never buy USDC manually, and you never touch an external wallet. Withdrawals convert back to dollars automatically.
5. Highest-rated prediction market iOS app. 4.7/5 from 31,000+ App Store reviews — the highest-rated prediction market app on iOS by a clear margin.
6. Combo trading (launched July 2026). Stack up to 32 legs of related predictions into a single position. This is Polymarket’s answer to sportsbook-style parlays, but built on true probability pricing rather than American-odds multiplication.
7. Liquidity rewards for limit orders. Existing users earn rebates for placing limit orders that improve market liquidity — Polymarket pays you to provide liquidity to thinly-traded markets, rather than charging you per trade.
8. Real-time price charts and historical volume on every market. More trading-desk than sportsbook in look and feel — the platform reads as a financial exchange, which is what it is.
How Polymarket compares to other legal US prediction market platforms
| Platform | Owner / Exchange | Signup offer | States | Standout strength |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Polymarket (with LOCALS code) | Polymarket / QCEX | $20 trading bonus | 49 + DC | Deepest global geopolitics and crypto markets · widest catalog |
| Kalshi | Kalshi / own CFTC exchange | $10-$20 trading bonus | ~38 states | Volume leader · NHL and CNBC/CNN partnerships · powers Robinhood Predictions |
| DraftKings Predictions | Churchill Downs / CME + Crypto.com | Up to $200 Predictions Dollars | ~38 states | Largest cash-equivalent bonus · sportsbook-style combos and player props |
| FanDuel Predicts | Flutter / CME Group | $25 in 18 sports-eligible states | All 50 (non-sports) | Broadest nationwide access · sportsbook-trained UX |
| Robinhood Predictions | Robinhood / powered by Kalshi | Free stock (not predictions-specific) | All 50 | Integrated into main Robinhood brokerage app · cleanest for existing Robinhood users |
| Crypto.com Predictions | Crypto.com | Up to $50 bonus | Most states | Best fit for existing Crypto.com users |
Where Polymarket wins: the deepest market catalog (geopolitics, crypto, and long-tail markets none of its competitors carry), the widest legal availability (49 states + DC), the lowest fees on limit orders (free), and the highest-rated mobile app. Where it doesn’t win: the top-line dollar value of the welcome bonus is smaller than DraftKings’ $200 — though DraftKings’ offer requires more meaningful trading volume to unlock, while Polymarket’s $20 clears at 1× wagering.
For traders who want the widest possible catalog and the most serious prediction market platform in the US, Polymarket is the pick.
Big events to trade in 2027
- Fed rate decisions — full 2027 FOMC calendar tradable
- Dubai World Cup — late March 2027
- 2028 US presidential primary season — early markets on both parties’ nominees are already active
- Breeders’ Cup 2027 — Santa Anita, early November
- UK general election — must be held by August 2029, contract markets active
- Ongoing geopolitical resolution markets — Ukraine, Middle East, Iran nuclear, China-Taiwan probability markets extending through 2027
All available for real-time trading on Polymarket, with new markets added daily as events develop.
Polymarket Questions Answered
Polymarket is available in 49 US states plus Washington, DC as of August 2026. Only Nevada is excluded, following legal action from the Nevada Gaming Control Board in January 2026. Several other states (Arizona, Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Montana, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Tennessee, Washington) have raised regulatory concerns about specific market types — most commonly sports event contracts — which may result in restricted sports market access without banning the platform outright. Polymarket verifies your state at signup and will let you know immediately if you’re eligible.
The minimum age is 18 in most states. Some states (Virginia, for example) require 21+. Polymarket verifies your age during KYC.
No — LOCALS is for new Polymarket account holders only. If you’ve had an account in the past (even a dormant one), you won’t qualify for the bonus.
No. Polymarket contracts are federally regulated event-contract derivatives, overseen by the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Sports betting is state-regulated gambling. Because Polymarket’s contracts are federal derivatives, they can be offered in states where online sports betting isn’t legal — including California, Texas, and Florida. Depending on your tax situation, prediction market winnings may also be taxed as capital gains rather than gambling income (consult a CPA for personal tax guidance).
No. Polymarket US uses Aeropay and MoonPay integrations for fiat deposits — debit card, bank ACH, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and wire transfer are all supported. Your balance is automatically converted to USDC stablecoin (held 1:1 with the US dollar) inside your Polymarket account. You never need an external crypto wallet, you never see crypto pricing, and you never interact with the underlying blockchain directly.
Partial fees only. Limit orders (maker orders that add liquidity) are 100% free — and can even earn you rebates. Market orders (taker orders that remove liquidity) carry a dynamic fee based on the market category and current price, peaking at 0.75% at the 50/50 price point on sports markets. This is among the lowest fee structures in the US prediction market category.
Winnings are real, withdrawable US dollars. Polymarket supports withdrawals via debit card, bank transfer (ACH via Aeropay), or wire transfer, with a $50,000 daily limit for debit and bank transfers. First-time withdrawals require KYC verification and may take slightly longer.
Contact Polymarket customer support
Legal / Terms — polymarket.us/tos
In-app live chat — available 24/7 via the blue chat icon in the app. Connects first to an AI assistant, then to a human agent on request
Email support — via the platform’s official contact form at polymarket.com/help
Discord community — active user community with staff moderation for platform questions
Help Center — searchable documentation at polymarket.com/help
