Polymarket in Nigeria: is it legal and how to deposit? (2026)
Available
No Polymarket restriction and no known local block. One of the highest per-capita search interest levels worldwide.
How to deposit from Nigeria
The short route: get USDC with NGN on Bybit or Luno (directly or by converting USDT, depending on what is offered locally) and send it over the Polygon network to your Polymarket deposit address, found under Deposit → crypto transfer. Polymarket charges nothing to deposit or withdraw; what you pay is the exchange fee and the currency conversion.
The full step-by-step, with the most common mistakes, is in how to deposit on Polymarket.
Ready to try Polymarket
- Free account in two minutes, no mandatory minimum deposit to sign up.
- Deposit USDC from your exchange and withdraw whenever you want, with no Polymarket fee.
- Start small: each contract costs between 0.01 and 0.99 USD.
18+ only. Referral link: it costs you nothing and helps keep MercadoDice running. Only trade money you can afford to lose.
Polymarket is not available in your country. You will only find information here, not sign-up links.
Which Nigerian regulator would have a say
Prediction markets sit between two legal regimes in Nigeria, and neither has addressed them directly. On the gaming side, the Supreme Court ruled in November 2024 that the National Assembly has no power to legislate on lotteries and games of chance. That power belongs to the state Houses of Assembly, and the National Lottery Act now applies only in the Federal Capital Territory. Any gaming oversight would therefore come from bodies such as the Lagos State Lotteries and Gaming Authority rather than from a single federal regulator.
On the investment side, the Investments and Securities Act 2025, signed in March 2025, classifies digital assets as securities and places them under the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). No public statement from the SEC, the National Lottery Regulatory Commission or a state gaming board about Polymarket or prediction markets is on record at the time of writing.
Naira on-ramps after the 2024 Binance exit
Binance stopped accepting naira deposits on 5 March 2024 and naira withdrawals on 8 March 2024, and dropped the naira from its P2P marketplace, after a clash with Nigerian authorities. Check what any exchange currently supports in NGN before you plan a route around it.
The SEC licenses crypto platforms in stages. In July 2026 it admitted Luno Fintech Nigeria and six other firms to its Accelerated Regulatory Incubation Programme with an Approval-in-Principle. The Commission stresses that this is not a full licence: it lets a firm operate within the programme, under conditions, while it works towards registration.
Nigerian election markets on Polymarket
The 2027 general election already has its own markets. Polymarket lists the presidential race, Senate and House of Representatives contests, and governorship races in states including Kano, Kaduna, Enugu, Benue, Bauchi and Kwara. Prices on these markets move with party primaries and candidate news. The live figures are on the markets board.
Frequently asked questions
Does Polymarket work in Nigeria?
Yes. Nigeria is not on Polymarket's restriction list and has no known local block at the time of this review.
Is Polymarket legal in Nigeria?
No regulator has addressed it. Gaming oversight now sits with the states after a November 2024 Supreme Court ruling, and the Investments and Securities Act 2025 places digital assets under the SEC, but neither the SEC nor any gaming board has made a public statement about Polymarket.
How do I deposit from Nigeria?
With NGN on Bybit or Luno, then over the Polygon network. The local route is explained above.
Sources
Reviewed on October 25, 2026.