Kalshi and Montana dismiss federal gambling lawsuits with no disclosed terms
Montana and Kalshi agreed to dismiss their federal lawsuits against each other on September 22, ending a dispute that began when the Montana Gambling Control Division sent the CFTC-regulated platform a cease-and-desist letter for allegedly violating state gambling laws. No settlement terms were disclosed. The dismissal preserves Montana's ability to enforce its gambling laws against Kalshi if the Ninth Circuit later rules against the platform's federal preemption theory.
The Montana dismissal removes one front from Kalshi's multiplying state war, but the platform still faces active enforcement in Connecticut and Missouri and twin Ninth Circuit losses in Nevada and California that threaten its sports-contract model nationwide. Each state battle consumes legal budget and operational attention that cannot be spent on product or growth.
The unresolved cases also create trader uncertainty, since position validity now shifts with geography rather than federal regulation. Kalshi's Supreme Court petition with New Jersey remains its only path to a single national answer. Until the justices act, the company must manage a fragmented compliance map while competitors making similar bets face identical exposure. The first platform to settle or withdraw from a contested state will set terms the rest must consider.