The state of Nevada has sued Kalshi after the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit denied the company’s bid to block state enforcement over its sports event contracts.
Following the ruling, the Nevada Gaming Control Board filed a civil action seeking to prevent Kalshi from offering what it described as unlicensed wagering in violation of Nevada law.
Kalshi responded by filing a motion to move the case to federal court, arguing it is “subject to exclusive federal jurisdiction” under the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
The regulator contends that Kalshi’s sports contracts allow users to wager on sporting outcomes and therefore require state licensing under Nevada gaming statutes.
The dispute forms part of a broader legal battle in which Kalshi and other prediction platforms have faced cease-and-desist orders from multiple states over similar contracts.
CFTC chair Mike Selig has maintained that event contracts are commodity derivatives within the agency’s remit, stating that states cannot recharacterise swaps trading as illegal gambling.
The case underscores intensifying jurisdictional tensions between state gaming regulators and federal derivatives authorities as prediction markets expand into sports and political contracts.