New York Attorney General Letitia James sued Polymarket, alleging unlicensed gambling and availability to 18–20-year-olds despite the state’s 21+ mobile-betting rule. Research cited points to disproportionate gambling harms in Black communities, especially young men.
James alleges Polymarket operated without a New York State Gaming Commission license and says this meant it avoided required tax payments. The lawsuit argues the market qualifies as gambling because outcomes are uncertain, outside bettors’ control or depend on chance. James is asking a court to halt its New York operations and order fines, forfeiture of alleged illegal gains and restitution to users.
A 2025 Pew poll cited in the article put the share of Black adults who bet on sports at 30%, compared with 19% of white adults. The article also cites studies reporting disproportionate social and economic costs in Black communities, including debt, family conflict and mental-health problems. A 2021 study of rural African American adolescents found substantial gambling-related problems among young people who gambled, with risk patterns similar to or more severe than those in studies of predominantly white populations.
