
Polymarket operates as a prediction market where traders buy and sell Yes or No event contracts, including a broad range of Polymarket sports trading options, from football and basketball, to tennis and boxing.
You can also trade contracts on live sporting events, as well as esports like Counter-Strike 2, Valorant, and League of Legends. Read on as we explain what the Polymarket sports prediction platform is all about, weigh the pros and cons of using the site, and share expert tips to help you get the most from your experience. Let’s get started.
We were impressed by the range of sports markets available on Polymarket. We also like that prices for some sports event contracts can be easily converted into American, decimal, and percentage formats. Here’s a balanced look at the strengths and limitations of the Polymarket prediction market for sports:
Polymarket is a prediction market that lets you buy and sell Yes or No shares on a wide range of events, including sports, crypto, finance, technology, culture, and climate. Each contract is typically priced from $0.01 to $0.99, with every pair of event outcomes adding up to $1.
With this model, you can’t bet on sports on Polymarket since it’s not that type of platform. Instead, you’re placing trades on outcomes. If your prediction is correct, each winning contract pays out $1; if not, it settles at $0.
Moreover, you’re trading against other participants and Polymarket does not set the probabilities on each event contract. Together, all traders determine the price of each outcome, which adjusts based on the market’s collective belief in whether the event will occur.
Here’s an example of how event contracts appear on the site:
Which NFL Head Coaches will be fired?
Another example is an NBA match between the Indiana Pacers and the Washington Wizards, with prices set at 63¢ for the Pacers and 38¢ for the Wizards.
During our review, we also noted that there are no Polymarket fees for trading event contracts across most markets, including sports. The exception is 15-minute crypto markets, where a small taker fee applies to each trade.
In terms of safety and regulation, Polymarket is legal, as it operates under the oversight of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
The Polymarket sports trading section covers a wide range of sports, including football, basketball, soccer, and tennis. We appreciated the breadth of markets available. For example, soccer alone features over 50 leagues, including the UCL, La Liga, EPL, Bundesliga, Saudi Professional League, FIFA World Cup, Serie A, and Brazil Serie A.
Moreover, Polymarket also offers player-focused markets, such as Game Lines, Points, Assists, and Rebounds. For instance, in an NBA matchup between the Houston Rockets and the Charlotte Hornets, we found markets for moneyline, spread, and total. Here’s an example overview of the spread market for this matchup on Polymarket:
| Market | Spreads |
|---|---|
| Houston Rockets | -2.5 (52¢) |
| Charlotte Hornets | +2.5 (51¢) |
In cricket, we found 15 leagues, including Australia, Bangladesh, the U19 World Cup, the Women’s T20 World Cup Qualifier, Afghanistan vs West Indies (T20I), and the Bhutan Tri-Series. Table tennis also features dedicated leagues, including WTT Men and WTT Women.
For many sports markets, Polymarket allows you to convert prices into formats like decimal and American, but these aren’t Polymarket odds in the traditional sense. They’re simply different ways to interpret the price of a contract.
In esports, Polymarket currently features 12 markets, including League of Legends, Counter-Strike 2, Dota 2, and Valorant.
Live trading is also available for both sports and esports. For example, during our Polymarket review, we found live events for CS2 between Lazer Cats vs ENCE Academy.
Here’s a clear overview of the Polymarket sports features:
| Sports | Football, basketball, soccer, tennis, baseball, hockey, cricket, rugby, table tennis, golf, Formula 1, chess, boxing, pickleball, UFC, and the Winter Olympics |
| Esports | League of Legends, Counter-Strike 2, Dota 2, Valorant, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, Overwatch, Rainbow Six Siege, Honor of Kings, Call of Duty, Rocket League, StarCraft II, and StarCraft: Brood War |
| Markets | Game Lines, 1st Half, Points, Assists, and Rebounds |
| Live prediction | Available |
Polymarket currently offers a Polymarket signup bonus. After signing up and making an initial deposit of $20, you’ll receive $50 in bonus trades. The bonus is issued as bonus trading credits, so you can put it straight to work on sports event contracts or any other eligible markets. Keep in mind that bonus funds typically expire within a set timeframe, so check the current terms in the app after signing up.
If you’re comparing welcome offers across prediction markets, it’s also worth looking at the FanDuel Predict welcome bonus before deciding where to trade. Polymarket also runs two additional reward programs that get you a little more out of your trades, here they are:
The Polymarket Liquidity Rewards Program rewards traders for submitting limit orders that help maintain a healthy, balanced market. The more strategically placed and competitive your orders are, the greater your rewards will be. Payouts are based on how much your orders improve market liquidity, measured by their size and pricing relative to other participants.
Polymarket also offers a 4% annualized Holding Reward to help maintain accurate long-term pricing. This reward is based on your total position value on eligible events and is distributed daily. During our review, we didn’t find any sports markets eligible for this reward. Eligible markets included:
Trading Polymarket sports event contracts was pretty engaging for us. However, having a few tips in mind can help you make the most of your experience. Here are three tips to help you enjoy your time on the site:
Polymarket provides a Documentation tab that’s especially helpful for new participants. It covers how to get started, how markets are created, limit orders, and frequently asked questions. Reviewing this material gives you a good understanding of how the site works before you start trading.
Since Polymarket sports contracts are based on real-world events, it’s best to focus on sports you know well. Don’t just choose a market because it has high trading volume; your knowledge matters. Even then, make sure to adjust your predictions as events unfold in real time.
Polymarket offers a dedicated iOS app, which makes trading sports contracts more convenient, especially for live predictions. Its 4.7-star rating on the Apple App Store shows this. Android users can add the site to their home screen for quick access or use the progressive web app, which takes up less space while still offering seamless trading functionality.
Here’s how to signup on Polymarket and trade sports event contracts:
Click the banners on this page to visit the official Polymarket website.
Tap the “Sign Up” button.
Continue with Google or Email.
If you use email, click “Continue” to proceed.
Enter the code sent to your email.
Find the Sports category to begin trading event contracts.
We were impressed by the variety of sports available on Polymarket. You can buy and sell shares in sports like football, basketball, table tennis, baseball, and golf, as well as esports such as LoL, Dota 2, CS2, and Valorant. Moreover, Polymarket lets you trade shares on live sports events, allowing you to react as the event unfolds.
Keep in mind that when it comes to trading sports event contracts on Polymarket, you’re trading Yes or No shares on real-world sports events. If your prediction is correct, each winning
contract pays $1; if not, it settles at zero. The prices you see for each outcome show the market’s collective belief about whether that outcome will occur.
To get the most out of your Polymarket experience, review the documentation for helpful resources on how the site works and how to place trades. Focus on sports you understand and watch, and use the Polymarket app for a seamless mobile trading experience.
Click the banners on this page to visit Polymarket and start trading sports event contracts.
Polymarket lists over 15 sports markets, including football, basketball, baseball, golf, soccer, boxing, tennis, hockey, cricket, rugby, table tennis, Formula 1, chess, pickleball, UFC, and the Winter Olympics.
Yes. Polymarket provides event contracts on a wide range of esports, including Valorant, Dota 2, League of Legends, Counter-Strike 2, Overwatch, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, and Rainbow Six Siege.
Yes. Polymarket sports prediction is legal in the US, as the site is regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
No. Polymarket doesn’t offer a welcome bonus for trading sports event contracts or other outcomes. However, it runs a Liquidity Rewards Program that sports traders can take advantage of while trading on the site.
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