Massachusetts Looks to Slam Door on Kalshi
Posted on: December 9, 2025, 11:56h.
Last updated on: December 9, 2025, 12:25h.
- Massachusetts’ Attorney General argues Kalshi is an unlicensed gambling operation
- Kalshi argues the CFTC has jurisdiction over its event contracts
- Massachusetts’ AG is in state court working to have Kalshi blocked from doing business in the state
If Massachusetts’ Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell has her way, sports prediction-market operator Kalshi will be blocked from hanging a shingle and doing business in the Bay State.
Campbell is asking a state court judge to block Kalshi from opening its platform to Massachusetts residents, arguing the company is running an unlicensed gambling operation.
This is the first time a US state is seeking to prevent wagering on a prediction platform via court order. Kalshi is dealing with lawsuits in multiple states from regulators arguing that the prediction market company is breaking state laws by offering event contracts that are just like sports bets.
Unlicensed Gambling Operation
Prediction market companies like Kalshi and Polymarket argue they don’t fall under state law jurisdiction because they are regulated on the federal level by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Platforms like Kalshi offer prediction contracts where people make wagers on the outcomes of specific events.
Sporting contests and entertainment events dominate the wagering on these site, including an event contract up today asking people to predict the college football championship winner. There’s another one asking who the next US Presidential election winner will be, and one asking if President Trump will release any of the Epstein files.
In October, the NHL became the first major pro sports league to announce a partnership deal with Kalshi and Polymarket.
The enforcement action by the Massachusetts Attorney General is taking state legal challenges a step further. Specifically, Campbell is asking the court for an injunction that would shut down Kalshi’s operations in Massachusetts.
Kalshi: We’re Regulated by CFTC
Campbell argues that what Kalshi offers is sports betting disguised as event contracts. Sports betting is fully licensed and legal in Massachusetts.
Those sports betting and online casino operators licensed in the state can’t offer their product to people under 21. Campbell argues that Kalsi offers its wagering product to people under that age.
Last Comments ( 1 )
The legal argument is about jurisdiction. The practical argument is about Kalshi using a "do not prosecute" directive (effectively) from DJTrump to bore a loophole in state gambling law via the CFTC. If it walks like duck and talks like a duck... it's obviously a duck. These court cases are a colossal waste of tax payer money. Of course it's gambling. Of course Kalshi is trying to pull an end-around regarding trying to avoid state licensing and taxation. Judge Judy would dispense with Kalshi's case before the first commercial break. Yet, we argue on...