Wisconsin seeks preliminary injunction to halt Kalshi, Robinhood, and Coinbase event contracts
Wisconsin's attorney general filed a motion Tuesday seeking a preliminary injunction to block sports event contract trading on Kalshi, Coinbase, and Robinhood, arguing the activity constitutes illegal sports wagering under state law. The motion asks a federal court to temporarily halt trading while the case proceeds, serving as a fallback if the court denies Wisconsin's separate bid to remand the matter to state court. The state describes the platforms' operations as open, repeated, and ongoing criminal violations. Robinhood is separately seeking to transfer the case. The filing escalates state-level pushback against sports-linked event contracts as courts weigh federal preemption questions.
Kalshi must now defend against preliminary injunction motions in Wisconsin while fighting parallel state-court claims in New Mexico, Rhode Island, and Minnesota. Any adverse ruling arms regulators in other active states with precedent to force geofencing or block operations entirely.
Wisconsin joins New Mexico, Rhode Island, and Minnesota in targeting Kalshi and other platforms, making it the fourth distinct state to launch active legal proceedings against CFTC-regulated event contracts in under two weeks.