Kalshi sues Missouri over sports event contracts

Kalshi has filed a federal lawsuit against Missouri officials, asking the court to stop the state from enforcing its gambling and sports-wagering laws against the sports event contracts Kalshi offers to people in Missouri. KalshiEX LLC filed the complaint in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri on Tuesday 27 October 2026 (*KalshiEX LLC v. Hanaway et al.*, No. 4:26-cv-01860).

The defendants, all sued in their official capacities, are Attorney General Catherine Hanaway, the Missouri Gaming Commission, its Executive Director Michael A. Leara, its Chairman Jan M. Zimmerman and commissioners Kevin Spaulding, Kevin Cantwell, Sam K. Gladney and Roger Stottlemyre.

An event contract is a yes-or-no contract on whether something will happen, such as a team winning a game, that pays out if it does. Kalshi lists them on an exchange designated by the federal Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Missouri treats the sports versions as sports wagering that needs a state licence.

The deadline behind the suit

According to Kalshi's complaint, Hanaway sent Kalshi a cease-and-desist letter dated 16 September 2026 that called Kalshi an unlicensed online sports wagering platform. The letter gave two options: stop offering sports contracts in Missouri, or obtain a Missouri Gaming Commission licence, pay state taxes and fees and stop serving people under 21. It set a deadline of 16 October.

Kalshi says the Attorney General's Office extended that deadline on 15 October to 30 October, but that on 27 October Missouri's solicitor general told Kalshi the state could not agree to hold off on enforcement. Kalshi filed the same day.

What Kalshi argues

These are Kalshi's claims. As of 29 October 2026, no court ruling on them has been reported.

• Federal law comes first. Kalshi argues that the Commodity Exchange Act gives the CFTC "exclusive jurisdiction" over contracts traded on designated exchanges, and that under the Constitution's Supremacy Clause Missouri cannot apply its own gambling laws to them.
• The CFTC's rulemaking. The complaint cites a CFTC proposal from June 2026 on prediction markets, and an October 2026 proposed rule that would define "swaps" (a type of financial contract under federal law) to include event contracts, including those based on sports. Both are proposals, not final rules.
• No realistic licence. Kalshi says "no license is realistically available" to it. Missouri allows only two mobile licences issued directly to operators without a casino or professional sports team partner, and those went to DraftKings and Circa Sports in April 2026, according to the complaint. Kalshi says it does not qualify for the other licence types.
• Federal access rules. Kalshi says that stopping service in Missouri, or adding Missouri-only age and location checks, would place it "in tension with" the CFTC rule that exchanges must give eligible participants impartial access.

In its prayer for relief, Kalshi asks the court for a declaratory judgment and for a temporary restraining order, a preliminary injunction and a permanent injunction. The complaint also says Kalshi will tell the defendants that it will seek a temporary restraining order unless they assure it that no enforcement proceeding will begin while its preliminary injunction motion is pending.

Missouri's position

In a statement reported by SBC Americas and Courthouse News, a spokesperson for the Attorney General's Office said: "If you are going to bet on the Chiefs beating the Broncos, the rules should be the same regardless of whether the bet is placed through an online prediction market or at the casino." The spokesperson added that Hanaway "will enforce the law, and we are confident the federal courts will not prevent her from doing so."

In the cease-and-desist letter, as quoted by Courthouse News, Hanaway wrote that Missouri shares "the same view as the majority of federal courts" that Kalshi's platform is subject to state gambling law.

A wider legal fight

Kalshi is not the first platform to sue Missouri over the letters. Novig (Ludlow Exchange, LLC) filed a similar complaint in the same court on 16 October (No. 4:26-cv-01780), and SBC Americas reports that Crypto.com has also sued the state.

Courts elsewhere have split on the core question. Kalshi's complaint itself notes that the Third Circuit sided with Kalshi in New Jersey, while the Sixth Circuit held in September that Kalshi's contracts are not swaps and that federal law does not override Ohio or Tennessee gambling law. Similar disputes are running in Louisiana and Utah, where the CFTC itself has sued the state. In Ohio, the casino regulator has told its licensees to cut ties with unlicensed prediction markets and confirm compliance by 30 October.

If gambling or trading on sports is causing problems, help is available in Missouri at 1-888-BETS-OFF (1-888-238-7633) and nationally through the National Problem Gambling Helpline on 1-800-MY-RESET (call or text).