Kalshi faces state bans as Arizona and Nevada sue over illegal gambling claims and trading regulations.
Nevada: A judge in Nevada has temporarily banned the prediction market called Kalshi from operating in the state. State officials say Kalshi hasn’t gotten the right gaming licenses. They also say people under 21 can use its service which breaks state law.
Judge Jason D. Woodbury ruled that Kalshi operates as a “percentage game” where the company takes money from trades. Since Kalshi isn’t licensed under Nevada gaming laws, it must stop working there for now. A hearing about whether the ban should continue is set for next month.
Kalshi argues that it’s regulated by the federal Commodity Futures Trading Commission not state agencies. The courts haven’t decided yet if federal rules override state rules. Similar sites like Coinbase and Polymarket have also been banned in Nevada.
This Nevada case is one of many across the US where states claim prediction sites break gambling laws. But federal officials including the CFTC chairman support these prediction markets. He says Arizona’s criminal charges are inappropriate since the CFTC already regulates these sites.
The situation creates a big disagreement between states wanting to control gambling and the federal government protecting prediction markets.