Washington court grants preliminary injunction against Kalshi sports event contracts
King County Superior Court has determined that Kalshi “offers illegal gambling activities to Washington consumers”.
US.- A Washington state judge has granted a preliminary injunction blocking Kalshi from offering sports event contracts to residents. King County Superior Court judge John McHale determined that Kalshi “offers illegal gambling activities to Washington consumers” and that the state is likely to succeed on the merits of its claims against the prediction market platform.
McHale found that Kalshi had been operating, marketing and distributing unlicensed and illegal gambling on sports, elections, politics, entertainment, culture and markets and that it knowingly accepts money from Washington consumers, facilitates wagers and collects fees.
The judge rejected Kalshi’s federal preemption argument ruling that the Commodity Exchange Act does not preempt Washington gambling law, that regulation of gambling and regulation of futures markets are different fields and that allowing state enforcement did not subvert the purpose of the federal statute to regulate actual futures trading. The court also found that Kalshi’s advertisements claiming to offer “legal betting” in Washington were likely to mislead consumers.
Washington becomes the fourth state to obtain a preliminary injunction restricting Kalshi’s sports event contracts, following Massachusetts, Nevada and Michigan.
State attorney general Nick Brown filed the underlying lawsuit in March 2026, seeking to halt Kalshi’s activities, along with restitution and civil penalties. The terms of the order are yet to be finalised. The parties must submit proposed terms by August 3, with the court intending to enter a final order by August 5. The injunction will not take effect before that date.
