New York sued the prediction market Polymarket on Thursday.

The state says the platform is an unlicensed gambling operation.

It wants a judge to block Polymarket from operating in New York.

The lawsuit is the latest legal challenge from a state trying to control betting apps.

These apps let people bet on almost anything.

This includes sports, weather, elections and technology.

New York officials filed the suit in state court.

They want Polymarket to pay fines and give money back to users.

The state says the platform did not get a gaming license.

New York has sued other platforms, such as Kalshi, Coinbase and Gemini.

It used a similar argument in those cases.

Gov. Kathy Hochul said Polymarket knowingly broke state law.

She said this puts New Yorkers at risk.

She said underage people are most at risk from problem gaming.

Polymarket's Chief Legal Officer Neal Kumar said the company will fight for its users.

He said Polymarket started in a small New York City apartment.

He said it now has more than 350 employees in the state.

Prediction markets say states cannot govern them.

They say they are regulated at the federal level.

They say they work differently from traditional gambling.

They say consumers trade against other consumers, similar to stock markets.

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission has opposed state regulation of the platforms.

It did not immediately return a request for comment.