Polymarket Confirms Layoffs and Contractor Cuts as New Leadership Restructures the Company

Polymarket has confirmed that it laid off employees and ended agreements with contractors in a restructuring that followed the arrival of a new leadership team, as the prediction-market company tries to regain ground from fast-growing rival Kalshi ^[1]. The company did not say how many people were affected, but it disputed online reports that it cut 30% of its workforce, calling that figure inaccurate, Fox Business reported ^[1].

In an emailed statement, Polymarket said it had "reorganized to set the company up for its next phase of growth," describing a mix of new hires, personnel changes and some people being let go, Bloomberg reported ^[2].

More than half of those affected were contractors, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters ^[3]. An internal email telling contractors that their agreements would end effective Nov. 4 cited a company-wide reduction in force; it circulated on X, and Polymarket confirmed it was genuine ^[3]. The cuts fell mainly on marketing, customer experience and engineering teams, according to Fox Business, and some full-time employees were let go as well ^[1]. Front Office Sports reported that affected roles included creative, growth, video and marketing work ^[4].

New Leadership, Old Stumbles

The shake-up follows a wave of executive hires. Warren Jenson, a former Amazon finance chief, became Polymarket's first chief financial officer in September, Bloomberg reported, and the company has also brought in executives from Goldman Sachs, DoorDash and Robinhood ^[2]. Former Uber executive Travis VanderZanden joined this year as chief growth officer ^[3]. Front Office Sports reported that VanderZanden replaced chief marketing officer Matthew Modabber, who was fired in October ^[4]. Founder and chief executive Shayne Coplan had faced investor pressure to bring more discipline to the business, according to Bloomberg ^[2].

Sources told Front Office Sports the cuts are part of a broader push to professionalize the company ahead of a possible public offering as soon as 2027, and one source said the company is not short of cash. "It's not like a struggle for cash or something," the source said ^[4].

The competitive picture explains the urgency. Polymarket was once the largest prediction-market exchange but lost that spot to Kalshi and has faced legal problems on several fronts, Bloomberg reported ^[2]. Front Office Sports cited a Predicted report showing Kalshi with about 73% of prediction-market volume in the third quarter, compared with roughly 18% for Polymarket ^[4]. Kalshi has grown through wider distribution and partnerships, including a FIFA World Cup deal, and raised $1 billion in late October at a $40 billion valuation, Reuters reported ^[3].

A Long Road Back to the U.S.

Polymarket's American history is complicated. In 2022 it settled with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission over operating an unregistered market and agreed to block U.S. users ^[5]. In July 2025 it paid $112 million for QCEX, a CFTC-licensed exchange and clearinghouse, to build a legal path home. "This paves the way for us to welcome American traders again," Coplan wrote at the time ^[5]. The company also said a federal investigation into whether it had fully enforced its U.S. block, which included a search of Coplan's New York home, had been dropped ^[5]. Polymarket relaunched in the U.S. in December 2025 after nearly four years away ^[4].

That U.S. exchange has powered growth. Polymarket told CNBC it has passed $1.8 billion in annualized revenue, mostly from the U.S. business, and it is finalizing a $1 billion funding round led by 1789 Capital, the firm associated with Donald Trump Jr., at a valuation of about $21 billion, Front Office Sports reported ^[4]. Regulatory questions remain: Reuters reported last month, citing people familiar with the matter, that the CFTC is investigating whether Polymarket violated its 2022 settlement ^[3].

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What It Means for the Industry

The cuts land amid a broader fight over who gets to regulate these markets. Polymarket's U.S. platform faces lawsuits and enforcement actions from state regulators who argue that sports-event contracts amount to sports betting ^[4]. Kalshi faces its own legal troubles, as previously reported here. Utah Attorney General Derek Brown filed criminal charges in October against Kalshi and its two co-founders, a day after the Trump administration sued Utah to block the state's civil enforcement, Al Jazeera reported ^[6]. The CFTC argues these markets fall under federal jurisdiction, while dozens of states led by both parties say the agency lacks that authority ^[6].

Federal prosecutors have also charged individuals with trading on inside information, including a U.S. soldier indicted in April over markets tied to the military's capture of Nicolas Maduro, Front Office Sports reported ^[4]. Sports betting companies including DraftKings and FanDuel have made their own job cuts this year ^[4].

For families and lawmakers who see these products as gambling by another name, the courtroom fights matter more than any one company's headcount. The outcome of the state-versus-federal battle, which New Jersey has asked the Supreme Court to settle ^[6], will decide whether states keep the power to set limits on wagering in their own communities.