Missouri AG Hanaway orders six platforms to halt sports event contracts
Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway issued cease-and-desist letters to Kalshi, Polymarket, Robinhood, Crypto.com, Novig, and Underdog on September 26. The state argues that facilitating sports event contracts amounts to unlicensed gambling activity. The action comes as Polymarket also faces a CFTC probe that began in June 2026. Both developments intensify legal pressure on prediction market operators already battling state-level challenges.
Hanaway's order fragments the national market six platforms built on CFTC registration. Robinhood already retreated in Michigan and now faces Missouri; Kalshi and Polymarket must add a fifth front to their state-by-state defense.
Each new state filing compounds legal spend faster than any single case resolves, and the first outright loss becomes precedent every other state copies. Traders hold positions whose legality shifts with state borders. The Supreme Court now holds petitions from New Jersey, Crypto.com, and Robinhood pressing preemption, but delay risks more bans before any federal answer arrives.