Washington judge orders Kalshi to halt most state betting operations
A King County judge issued a final order on August 13 requiring Kalshi to stop offering sports, elections, politics, entertainment, culture, and technology markets to Washington residents. Kalshi may continue commodities, climate, economics, and finance markets in the state. The platform must implement an IP address and residency-based geofencing system by August 19. The Washington attorney general's office said it is holding Kalshi accountable for running an illegal gambling operation.
Kalshi must geofence Washington or accept voiding risk on open contracts there. Traders now face a market where CFTC-regulated positions are valid in some states and unlawful in others. Each state loss multiplies parallel litigation costs and shrinks the addressable market.
The platform built its expansion on federal registration that state courts increasingly treat as decorative where gambling law applies. Polymarket holds identical CFTC registration and faces identical exposure. The Second Circuit appeal offers the only path to a uniform national rule. That timeline stretches across months or years while district courts keep ruling.
Washington joins earlier state and federal rulings in Wisconsin, New York, and Utah rejecting Kalshi's CFTC preemption argument, leaving Minnesota among the recent federal wins for the platform's defense.