Appeals court rules that states can regulate Kalshi’s sports prediction markets, dealing another legal blow to platforms

The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on Friday that states have a right to regulate sports-related event contracts on prediction market platforms, marking a second major legal defeat for the industry as a fight at the U.S. Supreme Court looms. In a unanimous decision, the three judge panel said that Ohio and Tennessee are permitted to apply their state gambling laws to Kalshi's sports-related event contracts. "We hold that Kalshi has not shown that its sports-event contracts satisfy the statutory definition of a 'swap' so as to fall within the scope of the CFTC's 'exclusive jurisdiction,'" the opinion said.