In brief
- Kalshi was temporarily banned in Nevada, halting its sports, politics, and entertainment markets for at least 14 days.
- A judge sided with the Nevada Gaming Control Board, signaling the state may win a longer-term injunction.
- The case highlights a broader clash between states and the CFTC over who regulates prediction markets.
After months of legal back-and-forth, Nevada successfully banned Kalshi on Friday—forcing the prediction market platform to abstain from offering event contracts related to sports, politics, and entertainment in the state for the next 14 days.
The temporary restraining order, or TRO, will last until April 3, when a hearing will be held regarding Nevada’s motion for a preliminary injunction in its case against Kalshi. A preliminary injunction could potentially extend the temporary ban on Kalshi for several more months, as the case moves through the trial process.
The Nevada state judge who granted the restraining order Friday noted that the Nevada Gaming Control Board is “reasonably likely to prevail on the merits” of its case against the prediction market platform.
Daniel Wallach, an attorney specializing in sports betting, told Decrypt the only other hurdle now in the way of a longer-term Kalshi ban in Nevada is a federal hearing in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals set for April 16, which could potentially unwind state court enforcement proceedings.
Kalshi has been pushing aggressively to prevent Nevada from banning the platform—even temporarily—for weeks. That campaign suffered a major blow yesterday, however, when the Ninth Circuit declined to prevent Nevada from issuing an initial, temporary restraining order.
“Kalshi has repeatedly stated that its operations are legal in 50 states, which is clearly not true,” Mike Dreitzer, chair of the Nevada Gaming Control Board, said in a statement. “Prediction markets, to the extent they facilitate unlicensed gambling, are illegal in Nevada, and we have a statutory duty to protect the public.
“We want people in the state to wager safely at a licensed book,” he continued.
Kalshi, which is now valued at $22 billion following a recent $1 billion funding round, declined to comment when reached by Decrypt.
Nevada is the first state in the country to ban Kalshi. Others are close behind. Kalshi is currently, for instance, appealing a potentially similar temporary ban of the platform in Massachusetts.
In the last year, numerous states have sued Kalshi and other prediction markets, including Polymarket and Crypto.com’s platform, arguing the companies are offering unlicensed sports bets that must be regulated at the state level. The prediction market firms have countered that they are not offering sports bets, but, in fact, sports-related event contracts, which are regulated at the federal level by the CFTC.
The Trump CFTC has avidly supported that interpretation, arguing states should not be able to regulate prediction market platforms. Earlier this week, when Arizona’s attorney general filed criminal charges against Kalshi for allegedly operating an illegal gambling service and allowing unlicensed election wagering, CFTC Chair Mike Selig immediately condemned the move.
“This is a jurisdictional dispute and entirely inappropriate as a criminal prosecution,” Selig said. “The CFTC is watching this closely and evaluating its options.”
Editor’s note: This story was updated to note that Kalshi declined comment.
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Source: https://decrypt.co/361938/nevada-first-state-ban-prediction-market-kalshi
