Prediction Market Round Up: More Court Challenges For Kalshi
A lot has happened in the prediction market industry over the past week, so Odds Shark decided to break down all the news with a round-up piece.
Here's everything you need to know about the world of prediction markets.
- Image
Terms and Conditions
GAMBLING PROBLEM? CALL 1-800-GAMBLER, (800) 327-5050 or visit gamblinghelplinema.org (MA). Call 877-8-HOPENY/text HOPENY (467369) (NY).
Please Gamble Responsibly. 888-789-7777/visit ccpg.org (CT), or visit www.mdgamblinghelp.org (MD).
21+ and present in most states. (18+ DC/KY/NH/WY). Void in ONT/OR/NH. Eligibility restrictions apply. On behalf of Boot Hill Casino & Resort (KS). Fees may apply in IL. 1 per new customer. Must register new account to receive reward Token. Must select Token BEFORE placing min. $5 bet to receive $200 in Bonus Bets if your bet wins. Min. -500 odds req. Token and Bonus Bets are single-use and non-withdrawable. Token expires 10/19/25. Bonus Bets expire in 7 days (168 hours). Stake removed from payout. Terms: sportsbook.draftkings.com/
Massachusetts sues Kalshi
On Friday, Massachusetts filed a lawsuit against prediction market firm Kalshi, alleging the company is operating an unlicensed sportsbook.
Massachusetts's Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell made it clear that the goal for the lawsuit wasn't to shut down Kalshi permanently in the state, but to force them to get a license.
 | This lawsuit will ensure that if Kalshi wants to be in the sports gaming business in Massachusetts, they must obtain a license and follow our laws. I am grateful for the ongoing partnership with the Gaming Commission. |
A statement from Kalshi says that the state has not engaged in dialogue with the company prior to filing this lawsuit.
Massachusetts is the first state to sue Kalshi. In Maryland, Nevada, and New Jersey, where Kalshi is currently engaged in legal battles, the company was the one that filed lawsuits. Kalshi sued each state's gaming control boards after each had sent the company cease-and-desist letters.
Prediction markets, such as Kalshi, operate across the United States through designated contract market (DCM) licensing by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). That CFTC-regulated status supercedes state law, according to Kalshi.
Robinhood Sues Massachusetts
You didn't read the headline wrong; there is more legal drama around prediction markets in Massachusetts. This time, it's Robinhood suing the state.
The lawsuit comes three days after the state's AG, Andrea Joy Campbell, sued Kalshi for operating an alleged unlicensed sportsbook.
Robinhood is seeking to block the state regulator from enforcing state law against the firm's sports prediction market offerings. Robinhood believes that the state regulator does not have the jurisdiction to regulate its sports event contracts.
The company filed this lawsuit in response to Massachusetts's suit against Kalshi. Robinhood was named in that lawsuit. The company felt it had no choice but to proactively sue the state's AG and five Massachusetts Gaming Commission officials.
Terms and Conditions
GAMBLING PROBLEM? CALL 1-800-GAMBLER, (800) 327-5050 or visit gamblinghelplinema.org (MA). Call 877-8-HOPENY/text HOPENY (467369) (NY).
Please Gamble Responsibly. 888-789-7777/visit ccpg.org (CT), or visit www.mdgamblinghelp.org (MD).
21+ and present in most states. (18+ DC/KY/NH/WY). Void in ONT/OR/NH. Eligibility restrictions apply. On behalf of Boot Hill Casino & Resort (KS). Fees may apply in IL. 1 per new customer. Must register new account to receive reward Token. Must select Token BEFORE placing min. $5 bet to receive $200 in Bonus Bets if your bet wins. Min. -500 odds req. Token and Bonus Bets are single-use and non-withdrawable. Token expires 10/19/25. Bonus Bets expire in 7 days (168 hours). Stake removed from payout. Terms: sportsbook.draftkings.com/
Kalshi sued by the Ho-Chunk tribe
The Ho-Chunk Tribe in Wisconsin has sued Kalshi and Robinhood for breaking state and tribal gaming laws by allowing sports gambling on their lands.
Sports gambling is illegal in Wisconsin outside of tribal casinos.
In the Ho-Chunk Tribe's lawsuit, they challenge Kalshi's double standard when it comes to defining its product. The company has termed its product as "trading" when it comes to battles in court, but in public, Kalshi's advertising campaign paints its product as gambling.
 | It’s very profitable for them to make this argument as long as they can, even though any court of competent jurisdiction is going to see right off the bat, as they have in the past, that this is clearly a gambling platform |
Greendeer is referring to Kalshi's case in Maryland, where the company failed to secure an injunction against the state's gaming authority. Judge Andrew Abelson ruled the company did not demonstrate an ability to succeed in its case and had challenged Kalshi's flip-flop on terming its event contracts as "gambling."
The Ho-Chunk Tribe is not the first tribe to sue Kalshi. In California, back in July, three tribes sued Kalshi on the same grounds. Those tribes are:
- Blue Lake Rancheria
- Chicken Ranch Rancheria of Me-Wuk Indians
- Picayune Rancheria of Chukchansi Indians
The three California tribes, as well as the Ho-Chunk tribe, are being represented by Rapport and Marston.
