Nevada court orders Kalshi to halt sports, election trades

Nevada’s First Judicial District Court granted a 14-day temporary restraining order on Friday requiring Kalshi to block sports, entertainment and election contracts statewide. The order took effect over the weekend and runs through April 3, when a hearing is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. in Carson City. It marks the first time the exchange has been limited by a state enforcement action.

Nevada users attempting to trade in those categories on Saturday received error messages citing the order. Kalshi notified customers that it would comply while disputing the restrictions: “We disagree with those restrictions, but as a law-abiding company, we’re following them. We’re confident in our legal position, and we’ll continue to fight for your right to trade the same products that are available in 49 other states.”

The court approved the Nevada Gaming Control Board’s request. In a statement, the board noted that it “considers the offering of sports event contracts, along with certain other event contracts, to constitute wagering activity.” Chair Mike Dreitzer added, “Prediction markets, to the extent they facilitate unlicensed gambling, are illegal in Nevada, and we have a statutory duty to protect the public.“ “We want people in the state to wager safely at a licensed book.”

The block raises questions about how Kalshi restricts access by state. The company has argued in court that limiting access by jurisdiction conflicts with federal impartial access rules for financial markets and that geofencing used in sports betting is costly and impractical. Despite that position, Kalshi appears to have implemented the Nevada restriction using customer registration data.

Early user reports indicate Nevada residents are barred from the affected contracts even while traveling outside the state, while some out-of-state visitors physically in Nevada could still make trades. Kalshi did not immediately respond to a request for comment on its access controls.

How categories are classified also drew scrutiny. Over the weekend, a Nevada user was able to place trades tied to Saturday Night Live monologues, the length of a federal government shutdown and “mention” markets involving President Donald Trump, while attempts to trade on sports outcomes, film and TV releases and other topics were blocked.

With Kalshi under the restraining order, state officials indicated Nevada has now restricted the operation of all unlicensed prediction markets known to be active in the state, including Polymarket, Robinhood, Coinbase and Crypto.com. Industry groups backed the action. “We strongly agree with Chairman Dreitzer’s remarks today that prediction markets are offering illegal sports wagers in Nevada and applaud the state’s decisive enforcement to uphold its laws, protect its consumers and defend the integrity of its regulated industry,” American Gaming Association CEO Bill Miller stated.

The action comes as Nevada’s regulated market faces competitive and policy pressure. Las Vegas visitation has lagged for nearly 18 months even as gaming revenue has held relatively steady, and the state’s Super Bowl handle of $133.8 million in February was the lowest in a decade. Nevada requires in-person sign-up for mobile sports betting accounts, a constraint not present on prediction platforms such as Kalshi.

Activity in Washington has accelerated. On Monday, Senators Adam Schiff of California and John Curtis of Utah introduced the Prediction Markets Are Gambling Act, which would amend the Commodity Exchange Act to bar certain event contracts involving sports and casino-style games. In their announcement, Schiff wrote that the measure would “eliminate this backdoor which violates state consumer protections, intrudes upon tribal sovereignty, and offers no public revenue,” while Curtis called it “about respecting states’ authority, protecting families, and keeping speculative financial products out of spaces where they don’t belong.”

Kalshi’s co-founder and CEO Tarek Mansour criticized the proposal, writing on X that the “casino lobby is hard at work” and arguing that banning such products “pushes this offshore, where no regulation exists” and “isn’t about protecting consumers; it’s about protecting monopolies.” Related bills include the BETS OFF Act from Senators Chris Murphy and John Hickenlooper and the Fair Markets and Sports Integrity Act from Nevada Representative Dina Titus.

Under current federal law, the Commodity Exchange Act already bars listing contracts tied to war, terrorism, gaming or other unlawful activity. Kalshi and other platforms have argued sports event contracts are not gambling under those rules. The Nevada order remains in effect until April 3, when the court will consider next steps.