Ohio judge denies Kalshi request for preliminary injunction
US District Judge Sarah D. Morrison has ordered the company to adhere to state gambling laws.
US.- US District Judge Sarah D. Morrison has denied Kalshi’s request for a preliminary injunction against Ohio regulators. She ruled that the prediction market platform must adhere to state gambling regulations.
According to Morrison, the Commodity Exchange Act does not pre-empt the state’s sports gambling laws, an argument the company had given in filing suit against the Ohio Casino Control Commission (OCCC) and state Attorney General Dave Yost.
Kalshi argues its sports offerings should be treated as federally regulated swaps, a type of contract often found in financial investing. However, the judge said that swaps are “understood as a transaction involving financial instruments and measures that traditionally and directly affect commodity prices.”
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost commented on X: “Kalshi argued the federal Commodity Exchange Act pre-empts enforcement of Ohio law. Nope. These ‘prediction markets’ have exploded and look an awful lot like gambling. Big win for Ohio!”
According to NBC News, Kalshi has said it intends to appeal.
Michigan Attorney General files lawsuit against Kalshi over alleged unlicensed sports betting
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel recently filed a lawsuit against Kalshi, alleging that the prediction market company has violated the state’s Lawful Sports Betting Act (LSBA). The lawsuit seeks an order of abatement and injunctive relief to halt what the Attorney General says is the unlawful offering of online sports wagers to Michigan residents.
Kalshi allows users to place wagers on the likelihood of sports-related outcomes, which Nessel says equates to offering unlicensed gambling. The lawsuit asks the Ingham County Circuit Court to declare Kalshi’s operation a common law nuisance and to issue a permanent injunction and order of abatement enjoining and restraining Kalshi from engaging in or advertising its internet sports betting operation in the state.
