U.S. Appeals Court Has Approved Nevada's Injunction Restricting Kalshi from Offering Sports Prediction Contracts

Mars Finance News, March 20 — According to Cointelegraph, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in the United States has dismissed the prediction market platform Kalshi’s application. The federal appellate court has allowed the Nevada regulatory agency to enforce a temporary restraining order against Kalshi, prohibiting it from offering sports-related contracts. Previously, the Nevada Gaming Control Board issued a cease and desist letter to Kalshi in March, ruling that its sports event contracts constitute unlicensed sports betting under Nevada law. Kalshi maintains that its event contracts fall under the exclusive federal jurisdiction of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), and any restrictions on event contracts would cause the company “imminent harm.” Lawyer Daniel Wallach stated that the temporary restraining order against Kalshi “appears imminent,” and since TROs are not appealable under Nevada law, Kalshi will be forced to exit the Nevada market for at least 14 days — until the preliminary injunction hearing. Currently, Kalshi and its competitors Polymarket, Crypto.com, Coinbase, and other prediction market platforms are facing legal challenges from regulators in multiple states, including Nevada, Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey. According to Dune Analytics data, trading volume on prediction markets has recently continued to rise, with weekly transaction volumes exceeding $2 billion, but this has also attracted increased scrutiny from legislators regarding insider trading and market manipulation.