{"id":2242288,"date":"2026-11-06T18:30:32","date_gmt":"2026-11-06T15:30:32","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2026-11-06T18:30:32","modified_gmt":"2026-11-06T15:30:32","slug":"kalshis-claim-that-its-not-a-gambling-site-isnt-holding-up-in-court","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2242288","title":{"rendered":"Kalshi’s claim that it’s not a gambling site isn’t holding up in court"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Home<\/a>><\/span>Tech<\/a><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Kalshi\u2019s claim to be a commodities trader is being rejected by courts<\/h1>\n
California tribes won the nation’s first injunction to block Kalshi sporting contracts.<\/div>\n
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\n \u00a0By\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chase DiBenedetto<\/a><\/p>\n
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\"Chase<\/p>\n
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Chase DiBenedetto<\/div>\n
Social Good Reporter<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n Chase joined Mashable’s Social Good team in 2020, covering online stories about digital activism, climate justice, accessibility, and media representation. Her work also captures how these conversations manifest in politics, popular culture, and fandom. Sometimes she’s very funny.\n <\/div>\n

Read Full Bio<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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States square off against the federal government in a push to subject Kalshi to gambling laws. <\/span>Credit: Bloomberg \/ Contributor \/ Bloomberg via Getty Images<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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State courts have struck another blow against online prediction market Kalshi, which has sought to remain outside of gaming law, claiming it’s a trading \u2014 not gambling \u2014 platform. <\/p>\n

On Wednesday, a US District judge granted a preliminary injunction to California tribes, prohibiting Kalshi from offering sports contracts (AKA trades or “swaps”) on tribal land<\/a>. The ruling was handed down to the Blue Lake Rancheria and Chicken Ranch Rancheria of Me-Wuk Indians, which jointly sued Kalshi for allegedly violating the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. <\/p>\n

In that case, a panel of judges ruled that Kalshi’s sports prediction trading constituted Class III gaming, which covers sports betting and parimutuel (pool) wagering. The court determined that regulations issued by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), which currently governs Kalshi, didn’t preempt the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.<\/p>\n

SEE ALSO:<\/span>A teen used her school Chromebook and Google AI Mode to plan her suicide, lawsuit alleges<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n

That same day, Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin announced the state was suing the platform under the Deceptive Trade Practices Act for alleged illegal gambling operations. <\/p>\n

“Kalshi is not blind that its platform presents real, tangible risks to its users, including excessive wagering, financial losses, depression, and other mental health harms,” wrote Griffin in a press release. “It doesn\u2019t take a genius to understand that wagering money on whether the Razorbacks win or lose is gambling. And gambling on an unregulated platform is squarely prohibited by Arkansas law.”<\/p>\n

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Late last month, the state of Utah filed criminal charges against Kalshi<\/a> and its two co-founders, Tarek Mansour and Luana Lopes Lara, accusing the company of violating state gambling prohibitions. The criminal case, which includes counts of unlawful activity, online gambling promotion, and general gambling promotion, followed a civil filing attempting to block Kalshi from advertising trades to Utah residents. <\/p>\n

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In September, a 6th US Circuit Court of Appeals panel ruled that Ohio and Tennessee could apply state gambling laws to Kalshi<\/a> contracts. Similar to the California case, the panel determined the Commodities Exchange Act did not override state law. A month prior, Nevada was granted the right to ban the platform<\/a> outright by a 9th Circuit panel. <\/p>\n

The state of New York has also sued the platform for “unlicensed gambling.” Both New York and Arkansas claim Kalshi violates state gambling age requirements, as well, allowing individuals as young as 18 to trade on the platform. <\/p>\n

Kalshi, echoing competitors like Polymarket, has asserted that the platform’s “swaps” are not bets and that it acts as a “designated contract market<\/a>” trading in futures contracts and derivatives.<\/a> The platform has sued states for attempting to regulate its operations. <\/p>\n

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