On Friday, a Nevada state judge extended a temporary ban on Kalshi, a prediction market provider, from offering sports-related contracts in the state. Judge Jason Woodbury granted the Nevada Gaming Control Board's request for a preliminary injunction against Kalshi, preventing the company from offering certain prediction markets until a broader court case can be resolved.
The judge initially issued a temporary restraining order on March 20, which has now been extended by two weeks to finalize the injunction's language. The original order blocked Kalshi from offering sports, entertainment, and election-related bets, with the judge stating that buying a contract on a baseball game through Kalshi is no different from placing a bet on a state gaming platform. According to the judge, this constitutes a prohibited gaming activity for non-licensed entities.
Kalshi representatives did not respond to requests for comment. Mike Dreitzer, chairman of the Nevada Gaming Control Board, expressed satisfaction with the ruling, stating that the board will continue to enforce Nevada law to protect the state's gaming industry.
The board considers sports event contracts to be wagering activities under local laws, requiring licensing. The ruling is part of a larger effort by state regulators to block prediction market providers, arguing that their sports-related products are essentially gambling products that should be regulated at the state level. In contrast, companies like Kalshi claim they are federally regulated and offer swaps, a type of derivative product, making them exempt from state regulation.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has supported this stance, filing an amicus brief and suing several states, including Arizona, Illinois, and Connecticut, for allegedly overstepping their authority. A related hearing took place in a federal court in Arizona, where Kalshi sought to block state regulators from interfering with its products, and Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes had previously filed criminal charges against the company.