Predict 2026 said the company moved from Las Vegas to New York due to “regulatory pressure” from the Nevada Gaming Control Board. A spokesman for the regulator said otherwise.
“The Nevada Gaming Control Board has not directed, required, or otherwise pressured any licensee or venue to cancel or refuse to host any recent or upcoming events or conferences, as suggested,” a spokesperson told CoinDesk.
Earlier this month, a forecasting conference attended by some of Polymarket’s top traders was held in Las Vegas, but at a hotel without a casino.
“We held a successful event last month with several stakeholders in attendance and will be hosting a second event again in November in Las Vegas,” its founder Ish Milly told CoinDesk. “Our venue is off the Strip, not inside the casino.”
A spokesperson for Nevada’s gaming regulator also told CoinDesk, “Gambling licensees are expected to comply with all federal, state and local rules and regulations and prevent any incidents that could bring the state or the gaming industry into disrepute.”
Nevada is one of the states locked in a legal dispute with the prediction markets industry.
In April, a state judge ruled that Kalshi’s prediction markets were “indistinguishable” from gambling and ordered an extension of a state ban on the platform.
Recently, Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chairman Michael Selig told Axios that sports betting and prediction markets are “two separate things.” Selig also said the CFTC is working with major sports leagues on market surveillance and other market integrity measures.
