Arkansas sues Kalshi over alleged illegal gambling
6.7 Regulation Arkansas sued Kalshi, claiming it ran an illegal gambling site by letting residents as young as 18 bet on events without state licenses. The state seeks restitution, penalties, taxes, and an injunction.
Arkansas has filed a lawsuit against KalshiEX LLC and Kalshi Inc., alleging that the prediction market operator is running an illegal gambling platform. The state claims Kalshi allows residents, including those as young as 18, to place real-money bets on sports, elections, and entertainment events without the required state gambling licenses. Filed in Independence County, the lawsuit seeks consumer restitution, civil penalties, unpaid taxes, and an injunction to halt Kalshi’s operations in Arkansas. Officials argue that Kalshi’s platform operates as an unlicensed sports-betting business, citing features like deposit limits and gambling-addiction resources as evidence of gambling activity. Kalshi maintains that its event contracts are regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission under federal financial law and are not subject to state gambling laws. Arkansas joins several other states, including New York, Michigan, Kentucky, Utah, Arizona, and Nevada, in taking legal or regulatory action against Kalshi. The case remains ongoing.
