Kalshi’s odds just got worse: Utah seeks $30 million to $60 million over alleged illegal bets

Utah Attorney General Derek Brown announced on Tuesday that the state had sued prediction markets platform Kalshi, its affiliates and two Susquehanna trading companies, alleging they facilitated illegal online gambling through event contracts, including sports event contracts, since 2024. Utah is seeking an injunction and orders requiring the companies to return about $30 million to $60 million in profits from the allegedly illegal contracts.

At a press conference, Brown said Utah alleged that Kalshi illegally offered its services to more than 32,000 users in the state, resulting in significant losses. “Under Utah law, I have determined that this operation is causing a significant and substantial ongoing harm to a significant number of Utahns,” said Brown. “And so today, we are asking the court to stop sports, elections, politics, culture and mention bets here in Utah.”

The requested injunction would block access to Kalshi’s sports, politics, elections and culture markets in Utah, and the state asked the court to approve a geolocation provider to enforce it. Kalshi sued Utah in February after lawmakers passed a bill treating betting on prediction markets as gambling under state law. In August, a judge ruled in favor of Utah officials, saying federal laws under the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) do not preempt state gambling laws. An appellate court denied Kalshi’s request for an injunction in September, blocking the platform from operating during its appeal.

Utah is the 11th state to file an action against prediction markets, and the naming of two Susquehanna trading firms marks the first action against prediction market makers. Arizona remains the only US state pursuing criminal charges against Kalshi, while Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, Nevada, Massachusetts, Wisconsin and New York have filed civil suits against one or more prediction market companies, many involving sports betting.

The Utah lawsuit comes as the US Supreme Court considers whether to accept a petition to weigh in on New Jersey’s case against Kalshi over allegedly illegal sports bets. The NFL has backed New Jersey authorities in the petition. If the high court accepts it, the case could potentially resolve whether the purview of prediction market companies falls under state authorities or the CFTC, which claims “exclusive jurisdiction” over the platforms’ event contracts. Kalshi did not immediately respond to Cointelegraph’s request for comment.