Washington court orders Kalshi to halt most event contracts in state
Judge John McHale of King County Superior Court ordered Kalshi to stop accepting contracts in Washington on sports, elections, politics, and entertainment. The order stems from gambling law violations. The court's action covers most of Kalshi's event contract offerings in the state, including markets on the Seattle Seahawks and other sports-related predictions. The sources do not specify which contracts remain legal for Washington residents or the precise effective date of the restriction.
Washington becomes the fourth state court to reject Kalshi's federal preemption defense, joining Wisconsin, New York, and Utah. For Kalshi and Polymarket, each loss forces the same binary choice: build a state geofence or let open contracts face voiding risk. Traders holding Washington sports or politics positions now hold paper whose validity depends on geography, not federal label.
Kalshi faces an August 19 geofencing deadline in Washington; miss it and the platform risks contempt. Legal spend stacks across five parallel state fronts. The Second Circuit appeal is the only path to a uniform national rule, but circuit splits take months or years to resolve. Minnesota remains the lone recent federal shield, and it offers narrow cover.