A Nevada judge has temporarily blocked prediction market platform Kalshi from operating in the state, siding with regulators who argue its contracts constitute illegal gambling. The order prevents Kalshi from offering sports, election, and entertainment event contracts for 14 days, with a hearing scheduled to consider a longer injunction.
A Nevada judge has issued a temporary restraining order blocking the prediction market platform Kalshi from operating in the state. Carson City District Court Judge Jason Woodbury sided with the Nevada Gaming Control Board, finding state authorities are reasonably likely to prevail in arguing that Kalshi’s contracts violate Nevada gambling laws.
The order bans Kalshi from offering sports, election, and entertainment-related event contracts in Nevada for 14 days. Judge Woodbury wrote that, in the record of the early case stages, such contracts are considered a “sports pool” under state law, which Kalshi is not licensed to operate.
Nevada Gaming Control Board Chair Mike Dreitzer stated that “Prediction markets, to the extent they facilitate unlicensed gambling, are illegal in Nevada, and we have a statutory duty to protect the public.” The court’s decision follows a federal appeals court denying an emergency request by Kalshi to stay a federal proceeding, which allowed Nevada regulators to act.
Kalshi argued its contracts are under the exclusive jurisdiction of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. However, Judge Woodbury rejected this, writing “The question of federal preemption in this regard is nuanced and rapidly evolving. At the moment, the balance of convincing legal authority weighs against federal preemption in this context.” A hearing on a motion for a preliminary injunction is scheduled for April 3.
Kalshi is facing legal challenges in multiple states over accusations of operating without a license. Similar action was taken in Massachusetts earlier this year, and Arizona recently filed criminal charges against the platform, which Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour called a “total overstep.”
