A federal appeals court ruled that Nevada's gaming laws apply to sports-betting platforms operated by Kalshi, rejecting the company's argument that federal financial regulations place it beyond state oversight.
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a unanimous 3-0 decision against Kalshi, which had claimed to operate as a "designated contract market" under federal authority rather than as a sports-betting platform subject to state gaming rules.
"Sports betting does not become something else simply because a company calls it an 'event contract'," Nevada Attorney General Aaron D. Ford said. "Nevada has built the gold standard for gaming regulation, and we will not allow companies to circumvent those protections or operate outside the law."
Ford has led Nevada's legal challenge against online prediction markets. In June, Nevada obtained injunctions against Kalshi, Polymarket, and Coinbase, becoming the first state to halt online prediction markets from operating within its borders. After Kalshi violated the injunction, the company agreed to implement geofencing technology to identify and block Nevada residents from accessing its platform.