Posted on: April 8, 2026, 11:23h.
Last updated on: April 8, 2026, 11:23h.
- LaLiga announces partnership with Polymarket in U.S. and Canada
- Polymarket banned in Ontario, through 2027
- Wealthsimple to set up prediction market platform in Canada, but only around economic or environmental forecasts
In yet another twist on the Polymarket-in-Canada front, LaLiga has announced it is the first European soccer league to partner with the prediction market company in the United States and Canada.
Elite Football League
LaLiga, Spain’s top professional football league, led by 20 elite clubs (global giants like Real Madrid, FC Barcelona and Atletico Madrid), has named Polymarket its Official and Exclusive Prediction Market Partner in the U.S. and Canada, in a multi-year partnership.
Polymarket, of course, is quite active across the U.S. currently, but is also embroiled in legal battles with state regulators on several fronts. The legal argument is that prediction markets like Polymarket and Kalshi, that trade in event contracts, governed by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, are no different than the product that sports betting operators offer, so therefore should be subject to the same regulations that licensed sports betting companies have to abide by.
In Canada, though, it’s a different story. Polymarket is banned in Ontario, through 2027, after a settlement with the Ontario Securities Commission in April 2025. In December 2017, Canadian securities regulators banned binary options – defined as a yes/no contract where payout is a fixed amount if a pre-sent condition is met and zero if it is not.
Polymarket banned in Ontario
Since most centralized crypto prediction markets provide for yes/no, fixed-payout event bets, they look and function like crypto-settled binary options, so offering them to retail Canadians may be captured by MI 91‑102’s binary options prohibition,” said Matthew Burgoyne, a Partner with Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP, and chair of Osler’s Digital Assets and Blockchain practice, in an interview with Casino.org late last year.
“While there is an exemption for contracts with a term of 30 days or more, it likely would not cover typical crypto prediction markets, which generally list short‑dated political and event contracts ranging from hours to a few weeks,”
However last week last week, Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO) announced it would allow investment management service Wealthsimple to set up prediction market trading for events – just not on sports or politics. Some are wondering if that was a step towards eventually allowing Polymarket-style sports event contracts, though.
Multi-Year Partnership
So is the LaLiga announcement yet another crack in the prediction markets dam in Canada? Casino.org reached out to LaLiga for a statement on that, but we’ve yet to hear back.
“Soccer’s growth, especially in North America, is spearheaded by young, diverse and multicultural audiences who consume the game across multiple screens, so it’s our goal to continue to engage these demographics in new and unique ways,” said Boris Gartner, Relevent CEO & Partner, in another statement. “It’s imperative we go beyond traditional engagement efforts in order to bring these audiences closer to the beautiful game than ever before, and we couldn’t think of a better partner than Polymarket to achieve that.”
Polymarket already has announced partnerships with MLB, NHL, UFC, and MLS. The NHL is all in on prediction markets, in large part because as Commissioner Gary Bettman said the league will have input into what predictions markets will be offering. So the NHL can take down markets it believes will lead to integrity concerns.
Exclusive Fan Experiences
Our goal is to give fans a more expressive way to follow the game, where opinions on players, matches, and season outcomes can be reflected in real time,” said Shayne Coplan, Founder and CEO of Polymarket. “Partnering with LaLiga brings that level of interaction to one of the most passionate global fanbases and introduces a new, more dynamic way for North American audiences to engage with the league.”
The partnership with Polymarket includes premium broadcast visibility, fan-focused digital and social programming. It also includes exclusive fan experiences such as VIP match hospitality and virtual meet-and-greets with LaLiga legends.
According to a statement, LaLiga and Polymarket will work together to “establish a responsible and transparent framework that promotes innovative fan participation while upholding the highest standards of sporting integrity.”