Washington's attorney general's office said Thursday that a King County Superior Court judge issued a final order requiring Kalshi to suspend most of its betting operations in the state, after finding that the platform likely violated Washington's Gambling Act and Consumer Protection Act.
The order prohibits Kalshi from offering, accepting or facilitating bets on sports, elections, politics, entertainment, culture, technology and science, in addition to bets on 'mentions,' in which users bet on whether a public figure will say certain words. The company must implement geoblocking by IP address and residency by Aug. 19, and a multi-source geolocation system by Sept. 2.
The court also prohibited Kalshi from advertising the covered contracts in Washington, ruling that promotion of illegal gambling constitutes 'unfair and/or deceptive practices.'
Attorney General Nick Brown said Kalshi 'enriched itself by promoting bets' on sports, elections, natural disasters and events related to the war in Iran. He said his office will continue to hold the company accountable.
In the lawsuit, the attorney's office cites a promotional tweet from Kalshi in which one person tells a friend that they found 'a way to bet on the NFL even while living in Washington.' The office argues this shows the company knew it was circumventing state law.
Dispute between states and CFTC
The ruling comes two days after the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) used emergency powers to determine that Kalshi should continue operating, in response to the exchange's own notification of a 'market emergency' following a lawsuit filed by New York. The CFTC argues that event contracts are interstate derivatives beyond the reach of state gambling laws; Washington argues that each bet involves money on a contingent event and falls within the definition of gambling.
The federal agency has sued nine states over the issue, starting with Illinois, Arizona and Connecticut, and later Wisconsin and Minnesota. U.S. President Donald Trump expressed support for the CFTC and called state officials who oppose prediction markets 'SCUM.'
Thursday's order expands an injunction granted in July, in which the judge found that 'substantial harm' to Washington consumers was likely. The state Court of Appeals denied Kalshi's request to suspend the injunction.
