A Nevada judge forced Kalshi out of the Silver State. At least for a few weeks.
The judge issued a 14-day temporary restraining order on behalf of the state gambling regulators on Friday. As a result, Kalshi can’t operate in the state for at least the duration of the court order.
The state judge’s ruling follows state gaming regulators sending a cease-and-desist order to the company last March, after Kalshi and other prediction firms began offering event contracts on sports.
“Kalshi has repeatedly stated that its operations are legal in 50 states, which is clearly not true,” Nevada Gaming Control Board Chairman Mike Dreitzer told the Nevada Independent.
“Prediction markets, to the extent they facilitate unlicensed gambling, are illegal in Nevada, and we have a statutory duty to protect the public.”
Kalshi Hasn’t Appealed The Restraining Order
The state already was successful in temporarily pushing Polymarket out in February. Gaming attorney Daniel Wallach said the order against Kalshi can’t be appealed in Nevada. Kalshi would need the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene.
“A TRO would bar Kalshi from offering event-based contracts relating to sporting and other events to people within Nevada without obtaining all required gaming licenses, and from allowing its market to accept wagers from persons under the age of 21 in Nevada,” Wallach said on X/Twitter.
Prediction market firms have argued that their sports event contracts are different from traditional betting and solely regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), not state gaming regulators.
“This situation is unprecedented. Nevada is currently the only state with temporary restrictions in effect due to a court order,” Kalshi officials wrote in an email to Nevada users. “We disagree with those restrictions, but as a law-abiding company, we’re following them. We’re confident in our legal position, and we’ll continue to fight for your right to trade the same products that are available in 49 other states.
“We built Kalshi to give everyone fair and open access to markets. Citizens of Nevada should not be forced into a business model designed to penalize winners and maximize user losses.”
$3 Billion Traded On Kalshi For March Madness
Since entering the sports arena in March 2025, the prediction market industry has been embroiled in several legal battles. Regulators cite a lack of regulations protecting consumers as the reason for their consternation, but they must also be worried about lost revenue from sports betting.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) recently expressed concerns about the industry taking market share from the Seminole Tribe, which operates sports wagering in the state.
“In Florida, we kind of have a unique relationship with the Seminole Tribe of Florida,” he recently told CNBC. “There were things done long before I was governor to give them exclusive rights over gaming. They also have the exclusive rights over sports betting. And so the question is: Is something like Kalshi, is that clashing with the laws of the state of Florida? Or is it separate? It’s more of a prediction (market). So, we’re kind of trying to get our mind around that.”
Kalshi has seen $3 billion in March Madness trading so far, on the heels of Nevada suffering a dip in Super Bowl wagering last month.
Taking Shots From All Sides
Sports prediction markets continue to draw controversy. Last week, Arizona became the first state to file criminal charges against Kalshi. A federal judge in Ohio also recently ruled that Kalshi must follow state gaming laws.
In January, a state judge in Massachusetts granted a preliminary injunction against Kalshi, barring it from offering sports contracts in the state. Regulators in Tennessee have sent cease-and-desist letters to three prediction market companies.
Federal lawmakers have also been critics of the industry. In September, several legislators sent a letter to the CFTC calling for reform. Former Trump White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney has also said the platforms are more like traditional gambling than actual investing and should be governed by state gaming regulators rather than by the CFTC.
