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A Washington state judge has granted a preliminary injunction blocking Kalshi from offering event contracts in the state, marking another legal setback for the prediction market operator as state gambling law challenges continue to build.
Judge John McHale of King County Superior Court said Washington showed a likelihood of “actual and substantial injury” to consumers from illegal gambling activities if the injunction were not issued. He also found that the public interest and potential consumer harm outweighed the harm to Kalshi. The judge said he plans to issue an order implementing the injunction on Aug. 5.
The ruling puts Washington alongside Massachusetts, Michigan, and Nevada, where courts have also restricted Kalshi’s activities. It also lands just weeks after a federal judge in New York, on July 8, rejected Kalshi’s bid to block enforcement of that state’s gambling laws.
Kalshi has argued that states do not have jurisdiction to regulate prediction markets. In response to the Washington ruling, the company said it was disappointed to see the state “continue wasting taxpayer dollars.”
Washington Attorney General Nick Brown took a much sharper view, saying Kalshi promoted illegal betting on sports, elections, measles cases, a child trafficking hearing, and natural disasters. Brown called the injunction “the first step toward holding Kalshi accountable.”
The case is part of a broader fight over who regulates prediction markets such as Kalshi and Polymarket, which allow users to wager on the outcome of events including sports and elections. The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission has claimed exclusive jurisdiction over the industry and has challenged regulatory activity in at least nine states. In April, a divided federal appeals court cited the CFTC’s authority when it blocked New Jersey gaming authorities from regulating Kalshi’s sports event contracts.
For New York readers, the Washington decision does not change New York law, but it does add to the growing list of state-level court actions against Kalshi. The next date to watch in this case is Aug. 5, when the Washington court said it expects to issue the order implementing the injunction.
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Source: As reported by Jonathan Stempel.
