Washington state court orders Kalshi to halt sports and election event contracts

A Washington state court has ordered prediction market platform Kalshi to halt event contracts tied to sports, elections, politics, and other categories, ruling that they likely violate state gambling laws. Under the August 13, 2026, order, Kalshi must implement geofencing to block Washington users by August 19, 2026. While contracts for commodities and finance remain permitted, Kalshi faces additional legal pressure from a lawsuit filed by Baltimore alleging illegal gambling.

Washington court order against Kalshi

• ▪A Washington state court issued a final order on August 13, 2026, requiring prediction market platform Kalshi to halt event contracts tied to sports, elections, and politics.
• ▪The Washington Court of Appeals denied Kalshi's request to stay enforcement of the Washington state court's injunction.
• ▪The Washington state court's August 13, 2026, order extended a preliminary injunction against Kalshi that was originally issued in July 2026.

Restricted contract categories

• ▪The Washington state court ordered Kalshi to immediately stop accepting and brokering new event contracts tied to sports, elections, politics, entertainment, culture, technology, and science.
• ▪The Washington state court barred Kalshi from advertising restricted event contracts to consumers in Washington state.

Permitted contract categories

• ▪Kalshi maintains that its event contracts fall under the exclusive oversight of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission under the Commodity Exchange Act.
• ▪The Washington state court allowed Kalshi to continue offering event contracts tied to commodities, climate, the economy, and finance.

Geofencing compliance requirements

• ▪The Washington state court ordered Kalshi to build a multi-source geofencing system by September 2, 2026, to block Washington state users from accessing restricted products.
• ▪The Washington state court ordered Kalshi to implement IP address- and residency-based geofencing by August 19, 2026, to block Washington state users.

State enforcement rationale

• ▪Washington Attorney General Nick Brown stated that his office would continue enforcing state law and hold Kalshi accountable for misleading consumers.
• ▪Washington Attorney General Nick Brown stated that Kalshi had profited from promoting wagers on events tied to sports, elections, natural disasters, and war involving Iran.

Baltimore lawsuit against prediction markets

• ▪The lawsuit filed by Baltimore, Maryland, alleges that Kalshi and Polymarket are operating illegal gambling.
• ▪The city of Baltimore, Maryland, filed a lawsuit against prediction market platforms Kalshi and Polymarket on August 13, 2026.