On Friday, a Nevada state judge prolonged a temporary ban on Kalshi's sports-related prediction contracts. Judge Jason Woodbury decided to grant the Nevada Gaming Control Board's request for a preliminary injunction, preventing Kalshi from offering certain prediction markets until the state's broader court case is resolved. The initial temporary restraining order, issued on March 20, blocked Kalshi from providing sports, entertainment, and election-related bets. The judge found that purchasing a contract for a baseball game on Kalshi's platform was essentially the same as placing a bet on a state-regulated gaming platform.
He stated that this activity constitutes prohibited gaming for non-licensed entities. Kalshi's representatives did not respond to requests for comment.
Mike Dreitzer, chairman of the Nevada Gaming Control Board, expressed satisfaction with the ruling and vowed to continue enforcing Nevada law to protect the state's gaming industry. The board considers sports event contracts to be wagering activities that require licensing under local laws. 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 subject to state regulation.
Kalshi and other providers claim they are federally regulated and offer swaps, a type of derivative product, and are therefore not subject to state regulation. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has sided with these companies, filing an amicus brief and suing several states, including Arizona, Illinois, and Connecticut, for allegedly overstepping their regulatory authority. A related hearing took place in a federal court in Arizona, where Kalshi sought to block state regulators from restricting its products.