SplitruleThe Market Closed. Why Haven’t I Been Paid?
Trading close, resolution, settlement, and withdrawal answer different questions. Here is what to check at each stage.
A closing time tells you when trading ends. It does not, by itself, tell you when money will reach your account.
That distinction is easy to miss when a market page puts a date next to a price. The date looks like an answer to “when is this over?” but “over” can mean several things.
Start by separating the questions.
Has Trading Ended or Has the Outcome Been Decided?
Trading close concerns the end of trading. Resolution concerns which outcome satisfies the contract’s rules. Settlement concerns the resulting payout. Polymarket US makes the resolution–settlement distinction in its own glossary.
Those events can occur close together. They still answer different questions.
For an illustration, look at the Athletic Tie Contracts amendment that Polymarket US filed in March 2026. Its terms put the last trading time at expiration. A separate clause sets settlement by the following day, unless a Contract Outcome Review Process begins. Filed terms, page 3.
That is a dated example from a particular contract family, not a promise about every market today. Its value is the distinction: the end of trading and the settlement deadline are separate terms. You need the rules for the exact contract you hold.
A Settlement Price Is Not a Payment Receipt
Even a data field called “settlement” needs a closer look.
Polymarket US documents its public settlement endpoint as returning a settlement price alongside the market identifier. That response does not document when a particular account receives a payout. Settlement API documentation.
The practical consequence: a dashboard can show a settled outcome without proving that your balance has been credited. Public market data and your account record answer different questions.
This is also why a closing calendar cannot double as a payout schedule. Replacing one label with the other would suggest evidence the date does not supply.
And Is the Money Still in the Trading Account?
If the payout already appears in your account, but you are waiting for a withdrawal, you are checking another process. Polymarket US documents withdrawal transaction states separately from market settlement. Funding transaction documentation.
“The market settled” does not establish “the bank received my withdrawal.” Check the relevant account and withdrawal records rather than using the market’s closing time as a substitute.
What to Check Before Asking Where the Money Is
Use this checklist to make the question precise:
- The exact contract. Save the market link or identifier, not just a headline or a screenshot of the odds.
- The applicable terms. Find the trading deadline, outcome source, settlement provisions, and any review exception.
- The stage you are waiting on. Is the outcome undecided, the account payout missing, or a withdrawal still processing?
- The evidence and its time. Separate the source’s timestamp from the time you checked it. An old observation does not establish the current state.
If the applicable deadline has passed, contact the venue with the contract identifier and relevant account evidence. A review exception is something to verify, not an explanation to assume. Keep account details out of public replies.
The useful question is not just “has it closed?” It is “which event has happened, and what evidence shows the next one?”
That is the habit behind Splitrule: read the source time and the limits of the data before interpreting the number.
This note explains data and contract terminology. It does not determine an individual account’s status. Splitrule is independent and is not affiliated with Polymarket US.