NY regulator asks court to force Kalshi to answer subpoenas

The New York State Gaming Commission has gone to court to make Kalshi hand over records it says the prediction-market operator has refused to produce. In a verified petition in the Supreme Court of the State of New York, New York County, which RG.org and AskSpinner report was received by the state's electronic filing system (NYSCEF) on 22 October 2026, the Commission asks the court to order Kalshi Inc. and KalshiEX LLC to comply with subpoenas it issued on 31 July. Attorney General Letitia James' office represents the Commission.

According to the petition as quoted by RG.org and AskSpinner, the Commission wants the material "so it can determine whether to issue civil penalties against Kalshi and others for violations of the Racing Law and, if so, in what amounts." AskSpinner reports that it asks the court to order full compliance, written answers and all responsive, non-privileged documents within ten days of an order.

What New York is asking for

The subpoenas were issued under Section 104(7) of New York's Racing, Pari-Mutuel Wagering and Breeding Law, with a return date of 14 August. According to gaming lawyer Daniel Wallach, who posted excerpts of the petition, they seek records on:

• Kalshi's sports event contracts;
• what it offers to New Yorkers under 21;
• advertising that describes its products as wagers or bets;
• its ownership and corporate structure.

The petition, as quoted by RG.org and AskSpinner, alleges that for at least 18 months Kalshi has "operated a massive enterprise in New York designed to enable individuals to place wagers relating to sports and other matters", and that it holds no Commission licence for sports wagering. It says Kalshi "refuses to comply with key Subpoena requests" despite "multiple court rulings declining to enjoin the Gaming Commission from enforcing the Racing Law", and that other answers have been insufficient.

These are the Commission's allegations. They have not been tested in court, no ruling has been reported, and we found no public response from Kalshi to the petition. Kalshi's long-standing position is that its event contracts, yes-or-no contracts on the outcome of a real event such as a game, are financial products regulated by the federal Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), not wagers covered by state gambling law.

Why the under-21 request matters

The legal age to wager on sports in New York is 21, and the state's rules require licensed sportsbooks to keep anyone younger off their platforms. The Commission is asking what Kalshi offers to New Yorkers under that age. In our view, it is the request with the clearest consumer angle: if sports contracts count as sports wagering, as New York argues, the age limit is one of the first rules in question. For now it is a question in a subpoena, not a finding.

A separate fight from the federal cases

This petition is about investigative records, separate from the bigger dispute over who regulates prediction markets in New York:

• Kalshi's own suit against the Commission's members (KalshiEX LLC v. Williams, S.D.N.Y., No. 1:25-cv-08846). The court denied Kalshi a preliminary injunction on 7 July 2026; Kalshi's appeal is at the Second Circuit (No. 26-1835).
• The Attorney General's civil enforcement petition against KalshiEX, filed in state court on 31 July and removed by Kalshi to federal court the same day (No. 1:26-cv-06550), where New York's request to send it back to state court has been fully briefed since 28 August.
• The CFTC's own suit against New York in the Southern District of New York, filed in April, seeking a ruling that federal law gives it exclusive authority over event contracts.

What it does not mean yet

There is no fine, no order against Kalshi and no block. The court has only been asked whether Kalshi must answer the subpoenas; any penalty would be a later decision. Other states are pressing prediction markets too, from Missouri's cease-and-desist letters to Ohio's warning to its licensees, while the CFTC has drawn its own line between casino wagers and event contracts.