The spat between predictor market platform Kalshi and Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Commission is heating up, as the platform files a restraining order.
This comes after the authority sent a cease-and-desist order to Kalshi to cease operations. Now, Kalshi has filed for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction against the MLGCC. The developing legal case is spread across several US states with cease-and-desist orders for different products in place in Nevada, New Jersey, and Ohio, among others.
What preceded the restraining order?
Kalshi already filed lawsuits in response in both Nevada and New Jersey at the end of last month. Platform CEO Tarek Monsour wrote on X: “We have made every effort to engage proactively with both Nevada and New Jersey and try to educate them about prediction markets, how they are regulated and how critical they are… but our words fell on deaf ears.
“I can’t speak to why they are taking this action, but prediction markets have proven their use, so it is a shame that these authorities are still trying to censor them. We are left with no choice: Sue.”
Now in April, Kalshi has followed up with a Maryland lawsuit against the local regulator, after is ordered the platform to stop sports event contract offerings, becoming the sixth state to issue a similar order.
The dispute centres around Kalshi offering a Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)-approved product, which affords it specific protections for its operations. However, the regulators argue that offering predictors on sporting events, or even those related to other events like presidential elections, pushes the platform’s activities over into gambling regulations.
The case is expected to continue to develop in the coming months, with no resolution expected anytime soon.
