39 states and DC back Ohio in Kalshi fight over sports event contracts
Attorneys general from 39 states and Washington, D.C. have filed in support of Ohio's legal challenge to block Kalshi from offering sports event contracts. The multi-state amicus backing, first reported June 15 and noted again June 17, strengthens Ohio's argument that Kalshi's sports markets constitute illegal gambling under state law. The dispute is deepening a circuit split among federal appeals courts over whether the Commodity Exchange Act preempts state gambling enforcement against CFTC-regulated prediction markets, increasing the likelihood that the U.S. Supreme Court may eventually resolve the jurisdictional conflict.
Kalshi must now defend its sports event contracts against a 39-state coalition while simultaneously fighting Gensler's amicus brief undermining its federal preemption defense, plus parallel state and federal cases in Rhode Island, New Mexico, and Minnesota. A loss on any front could force geofencing or product shutdowns in multiple jurisdictions.