Gem Crush

How to play Gem Crush

During the second half of 2026, prediction markets have endured the wrath of a plethora of state governors, most notably Kathy Hochul of New York.

As the NFL season begins, a state in close proximity to the New England Patriots became the latest to attempt to curb the influence of the trading platforms. On 10 September, one day after the Pats’ season-opening loss to the Seattle Seahawks, Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont addressed the growth of the markets during a speech in downtown Hartford. On the same day, the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection issued cease-and-desist orders to nine unregulated operators, including Polymarket, Robinhood and Underdog Predict.

“Prediction markets have branded themselves as legal and safe, but the reality is they are not adhering to Connecticut’s consumer protection standards,” Lamont wrote in a statement.

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The first was direct marketing (emails, texts, push notifications). Citing randomised studies, the committee noted that limiting direct marketing resulted in reduced betting and fewer short-term harms. 

Referencing an Australian study on direct marketing and its link to gambling harms, Dr Philip Newall, senior lecturer at the University of Bristol noted that “causality was established by getting a random subset of participants to opt-out of receiving direct marketing offers”.

It was found that “this group then self-reported significantly lower expenditure and harms [ … ] over the next two weeks”.  

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Last February in Santa Clara, the Seahawks held the Patriots scoreless through three quarters en route to a 29-13 win. That said, the defending champions are not the favourites to win the Lombardi Trophy this year. Nearly every US operator has installed the Los Angeles Rams as the overwhelming choice to capture the title.

As of 6pm ET, the Seahawks had a 62% probability on Polymarket to defeat the Patriots in Wednesday’s opener. Conversely, Polymarket traders gave the Patriots a 39% chance to pull the upset. At those odds, a $100 contract on the Pats carries a payout of $247.35.

James’ multi-year partnership with DraftKings expired earlier this summer, Yahoo Finance reported.