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Legal6h ago

Louisiana AG Liz Murrill sues Kalshi, Polymarket, Robinhood, Coinbase, and Gemini over event contracts

Why this matters?

Louisiana joins Arkansas, Ohio, Tennessee, and Missouri in active state litigation against CFTC-registered prediction market platforms, stripping away the federal preemption shield operators once relied upon. Kalshi now faces parallel civil suits across five states while its co-founders face felony criminal summons in Utah on December 4, scattering legal resources across incompatible state theories.

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Latest Legal headlines

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25h ago

CFTC warns Kalshi of imminent charges over contract notification

25h ago

Polymarket US and Robinhood sue Missouri to halt sports contract crackdown

26h ago

Kalshi asks court to dismiss Washington man's $580,000 gambling-recovery suit

27h ago

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28h ago

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29h ago

New Jersey asks US Supreme Court to rule on prediction market regulation

30h ago

Washington man sues Kalshi to recover $580k in alleged gambling losses

31h ago

Warren and Merkley press White House over prediction market insider trading

32h ago

Legal Top Stories

Utah AG calls Kalshi a 'back-alley gambling den' and seeks up to $61.2 million

Utah's lawsuit joins felony criminal charges against co-founders Mansour and Lopes Lara and a separate CFTC-DOJ preemption suit filed the same day, making it the most severe state assault on a federally registered prediction market yet. The $61.2 million ceiling and personal criminal exposure change the legal risk calculus for every prediction market founder. Kalshi must now fight on three timelines: a state civil trial for profit recovery, a state criminal case with felony counts, and a federal constitutional test of CFTC preemption. The Utah template already shows signs of spreading; Kalshi faces parallel suits in Ohio, Tennessee, and Louisiana, each defeat becoming copyable law for the next attorney general. Polymarket and Robinhood, which have stayed silent in some states, must now decide whether federal cover is worth the litigation cost or whether to negotiate state settlements before their own executives face similar charges. The CFTC's swap-rule proposal sits in White House review, slower than any criminal trial.

13d ago

Arkansas attorney general sues Kalshi over Razorbacks event contracts

Griffin's lawsuit turns consumer protections into weapons, making every CFTC-registered platform's responsible-gaming architecture a liability argument for other state attorneys general. Kalshi now faces parallel Arkansas civil claims alongside Ohio, Tennessee, and Louisiana suits. Founder Mansour and Lopes Lara already face felony criminal summons in Utah. The responsible-gaming-tools argument is copyable by any state; Polymarket and Robinhood must audit their own feature sets before prosecutors do. Arkansas's framing bypasses federal preemption debates by treating deposit limits as admissions of gambling intent, not compliance. A win here gives Griffin's reasoning to peers in Mississippi and Alabama, where Razorbacks fans also trade. Kalshi's defense must now explain why safeguards prove guilt while absence proves recklessness.

2d ago

CFTC and DOJ sue Utah to block state enforcement against Kalshi

The CFTC's escalation to federal court gives Kalshi a constitutional shield against Utah's triple threat: a civil suit seeking up to $60 million, felony criminal charges against its co-founders, and a state law set to take effect in November. A federal preemption ruling would reset the legal landscape for every CFTC-registered platform facing parallel state suits. But the swap-rule proposal is already out for public comment after White House review.

12d ago

Hegseth bans Pentagon troops from using nonpublic military information on prediction markets

The Pentagon ban names Polymarket and Kalshi, and gives adversaries a playbook for what not to watch. Adversaries now know U.S. commanders treat prediction market volume and price moves as potential intelligence leaks, which may change how they read those signals or whether they trade to plant disinformation. For platforms, the memo Sharpens a regulatory risk separate from the CFTC or state gambling suits: national-security designations that could bring congressional oversight, platform blacklists, or contract bans on defense topics. The $400,000 prosecution precedent means any future leak to prediction markets carries felony weight, not just ethics discipline. Operators must now weigh whether listing military or geopolitical contracts is worth attracting Pentagon attention that scares away institutional liquidity. The first platform to delist defense contracts preemptively signals to competitors that national-security lobbying may reshape product menus faster than court rulings.

18d ago

CFTC probes Polymarket for alleged breach of 2022 US user ban settlement

A CFTC enforcement action would test whether a federally registered platform still faces federal heat after cleaning up its licensing. Polymarket spent 2025 buying QCEX and securing CFTC designation precisely to shed its unregulated past; a breach finding would flag that settlement violations linger even after the paperwork gets fixed. The timing is painful. Platform referrals from its own election-contract probes are already in the agency's hands. A settlement-breach finding would give congressional critics fresh evidence that CFTC registration does not guarantee clean conduct. Competitors like Kalshi and Robinhood face their own state-court fights over preemption and executive felony charges; a federal trust collapse would strip the entire industry of its best defense against state gambling laws. Polymarket must now prove its compliance house is in order while the CFTC reviews the files it itself generated.

16d ago

Crypto.com and Novig sue Missouri to halt sports event contract enforcement

The Missouri suits create a new front in the preemption war that Kalshi already lost in Ohio and Tennessee. Crypto.com and Novig are betting federal courts will save their CFTC-registered status where Kalshi's Sixth Circuit challenge failed. A win here would give platforms a counter-precedent to wield in other states; a loss deepens the circuit split and pushes the Supreme Court closer to intervention. The NFL has already urged the high court to cement state gambling framing, so every state victory strengthens that alliance. For Polymarket and Robinhood, which received Missouri orders but stayed silent, Crypto.com's outcome determines whether they must fight state by state or can hide behind federal registration. The CFTC's swap-rule proposal remains in White House review, slower than any courtroom.

22d ago

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Press Releases

  1. Michigan regulator names four platforms in illegal gambling awareness campaign
  2. Polymarket US files product self-certification with CFTC
  3. Democratic senators press X on alleged preferential Polymarket ad treatment
  4. Senators Warren and Curtis demand election-trading safeguards from Kalshi and Polymarket
  5. Ohio senator DeMora urges sports betting laws for prediction markets

Frequently Asked Questions

Are prediction markets legal in the United States?

Yes — federally regulated event contracts are legal under CFTC oversight. Kalshi, ForecastEx, and Polymarket’s US arm operate as licensed Designated Contract Markets. Several states have challenged sports event contracts under state gambling law, but federal courts have so far sided with the federal frame.

Are sports event contracts legal?

They trade on CFTC-regulated venues today, but multiple states (New Jersey, Nevada, Maryland, Massachusetts, others) have argued they are sports betting under state law. Kalshi has won preliminary federal injunctions blocking enforcement in those cases. The legal frame is moving — the Legal section on this page tracks every ruling as it lands.

Can you bet on elections in the US?

Yes. After Kalshi won a federal court ruling in 2024, election event contracts have traded on US-regulated venues. Polymarket also re-opened to US users in 2025 via its QCEX acquisition.

What is the CFTC and what does it do?

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission is the US federal regulator for derivatives markets, including event contracts. It licenses Designated Contract Markets like Kalshi and reviews self-certified contracts for compliance with the Commodity Exchange Act.

Has Kalshi been sued?

Yes — multiple state regulators (New Jersey, Nevada, Maryland, Massachusetts, others) issued cease-and-desist orders against Kalshi’s sports markets, and Kalshi has counter-sued in federal court arguing federal preemption. Federal courts have granted Kalshi preliminary injunctions in the major cases to date.

Are prediction markets considered gambling?

Federal law treats CFTC-regulated event contracts as derivatives, not gambling. Some state regulators disagree, particularly on sports contracts, and that disagreement is what most prediction-markets litigation is about.