Polymarket Preparing to Launch Parlays for US Traders

Ahead of the 2026-27 NFL season, prediction market platform Polymarket is preparing to launch parlays for traders. 

The first parlay trade Polymarket processed was on Aug. 5, and over the course of initial testing, Polymarket generated more than $7.4 million in trading volume.

With parlays coming to Polymarket, this is yet another market for the prediction market platform, which already sees most of its action in sports. Thus far in 2026, 99% of Polymarket's exchange in the US branch is sports, totaling $15.5 billion.

Polymarket Parlays Enter Beta Testing

That said, parlays are currently in beta testing, so they're not widely available on US desktop or app interfaces. Polymarket has previously launched parlays on its international platform. Those were launched during the World Cup.  

Per Polymarket's CFTC filing, these parlays will allow traders to take two or more contracts and trade them with a single $1 position. Right now, the beta allows up to 10. 

Since Polymarket isn't a sportsbook, it uses a request-for-quote system for combination contracts (parlays). This means, according to Probability God on X, "users can request a quote for the entire package and receive a price from market makers through an RFQ auction."

The account describes the process as:

"- user submits request for combo

"- rfq sends it to market makers

"- market makers participate in an auction to get the best quote

"- user accepts or denies the quote"

The file for this product with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission dates back to May, under the name "Combinatorial Athletic Outcome Contracts". Polymarket self-certified the contracts on May 20. 

Kalshi Has Seen Billions in Parlay Trading Volume

This move by Polymarket comes after Kalshi has seen significant action in this area. Kalshi puts these under the Exotics category, and they have now become the leader in weekly trading volume among one-off contracts. The first time this happened was August 2. 

From Aug 1 to Aug 18, more than $ 9 billion has been traded on parlayus at Kalshi. 

Prediction market platforms continue to be a hotbed for legal issues. Earlier this month, the CFTC ordered Kalshi to continue operating in New York despite a lawsuit by the state and a judge's ruling that Kalshi is not immune from New York sports betting laws. 

We'll see if Polymarket's decision to bring offer parlays stirs any more controversy.