Last March, Nevada became the first state to issue a cease-and-desist to Kalshi. A year later, Nevada scored a small victory by becoming the first state to successfully block some of the exchange’s more controversial contracts after a court order late last week.
Nevada’s First Judicial District Court on Friday granted the Nevada Gaming Control Board’s request for a 14-day temporary restraining order against Kalshi, which forced the exchange to block its sports, entertainment and election contracts in the state. The TRO runs through 3 April, on which date the next hearing is scheduled for 1:30 pm local time.
The markets were blocked sometime on Saturday, as users in Nevada were unable to purchase contracts involving the three categories. Instead, an error message cited the court order as being the reason for the restriction.
“We disagree with those restrictions, but as a law-abiding company, we’re following them,” the message reads. “We’re confident in our legal position, and we’ll continue to fight for your right to trade the same products that are available in 49 other states.”
In a statement, the NGCB said it “considers the offering of sports event contracts, along with certain other event contracts, to constitute wagering activity”. With Kalshi blocked for the time being, Nevada has now “successfully restricted the operation of all unlicensed prediction markets that had been known to be operating in Nevada”, joining Polymarket, Robinhood, Coinbase and Crypto.com. With regard to Kalshi specifically, this is the first time the exchange has succumbed to a state-level enforcement action.
“Prediction markets, to the extent they facilitate unlicensed gambling, are illegal in Nevada, and we have a statutory duty to protect the public,” added NGCB Chair Mike Dreitzer. “We want people in the state to wager safely at a licensed book.”
Kalshi using registration data to restrict?
There was some uncertainty as to how Kalshi would restrict a jurisdiction from trading, given that it has argued vehemently against doing so in court. Rules regarding access are central to federal financial policy, and Kalshi has argued that restricting certain jurisdictions runs contrary to impartial access requirements. It has also said that geofencing technology, which is widely used to police sports betting jurisdictions, would be too costly and impractical to implement.
Nevertheless, it appears that Kalshi was able to quickly enact the restriction by utilising the registration information of users across the state. Nevada users are barred from trading affected contracts in the state, but out-of-state residents visiting Nevada could still make trades, GGB publisher-at-large Roger Gros reported. Gros, a Nevada resident, was also barred from making trades despite traveling to nearby Arizona, he told iGB.
Kalshi did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the court ruling and registration restrictions.
With regard to contract classifications, it also appears that some category lines have been blurred. According to an analysis from InGame, a Nevada user over the weekend was able to book trades on contracts involving Saturday Night Live monologues, the length of the government shutdown and “mention” markets from US President Donald Trump, despite the apparent connections to politics and entertainment. Attempts to buy contracts on sports, film and TV releases and other topics were disallowed.
Regulated industry standing behind Nevada
As the most prominent gaming state in the US, it makes sense that Nevada would be on the forefront of the prediction market fight. Lawsuits involving other significant gaming states like New Jersey, New York and Ohio are also ongoing. In the wake of the ruling, the regulated industry responded positively.
“We strongly agree with Chairman Dreitzer’s remarks today that prediction markets are offering illegal sports wagers in Nevada and applaud the state’s decisive enforcement to uphold its laws, protect its consumers and defend the integrity of its regulated industry,” Bill Miller, CEO of the American Gaming Association, said in a statement.
Prediction markets have become a central issue for the AGA, which has enlisted former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie to lead its messaging efforts. Multiple companies have left the group over prediction market ties, including FanDuel, DraftKings, Fanatics, OpenBet and Sportradar. On the AGA’s website, a running tracker alleges that prediction markets have siphoned more than $650 million in would-be state sports betting taxes.
For Nevada, defense against Kalshi and others comes at a critical time. Las Vegas tourism and visitation has lagged for nearly 18 months, while gaming revenue has stayed relatively steady. This dynamic has caused some to question the long-term sustainability of the state’s hospitality industry, and encroachment from prediction markets has only added to that uncertainty.
Nevada’s Super Bowl handle of $133.8 million in February was the lowest in a decade, which might’ve been influenced in part by sports event contracts. The state requires in-person signup for mobile sports betting, which was not the case for prediction markets like Kalshi.
Legislative efforts heating up
The advancement of platforms like Kalshi have drawn the ire of state and federal lawmakers this legislative season. Multiple state-level bills have been filed aiming to curtail sports contracts and insider trading, but given the legal arguments regarding federal regulation of gambling, added attention is being paid to federal legislation.
The most recent example came Monday with the introduction of the Prediction Markets Are Gambling Act, a bipartisan effort from Senators Adam Schiff (D-California) and John Curtis (R-Utah). As the name suggests, the bill seeks to “amend the Commodity Exchange Act to prohibit certain event contracts involving sports and casino-style games”.
In a release, Schiff vowed to “eliminate this backdoor which violates state consumer protections, intrudes upon tribal sovereignty, and offers no public revenue”. Curtis added that the bill “is about respecting states’ authority, protecting families, and keeping speculative financial products out of spaces where they don’t belong”.
The “casino lobby is hard at work. There is a reason tens of millions of people use regulated prediction markets: it’s a better product,” Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour wrote on X. “Banning just pushes this offshore, where no regulation exists. This bill isn’t about protecting consumers; it’s about protecting monopolies.”
The bill joins other similar efforts, such as the BETS OFF Act from Senators Chris Murphy (D-Connecticut) and John Hickenlooper (D-Colorado) and the Fair Markets and Sports Integrity Act from Nevada Representative Dina Titus.
Ironically, all of the bills seek to amend or affirm existing rules. The Commodity Exchange Act, the governing legislation for the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, already bans the listing of contracts involving war, terrorism, gaming or other unlawful activities. Kalshi and others have successfully argued that sports contracts do not constitute gaming, though the Nevada ruling is evidence that its luck may be starting to turn.
Jess Marquez
Jess has covered the global gaming industry since 2022. A native of Reno, Nevada, he’d like to note that it’s Ne-va-da, not Ne-VAH-da.
Original article: https://igamingbusiness.com/legal-compliance/kalshi-nevada-temporary-restriction-march-2026/
