Kalshi pushes back against order to halt most WA operations
Published in Business News
Online prediction market Kalshi is pushing back against a King County judge’s recent mandate to halt the majority of its operations statewide.
It’s the latest development in the ongoing clash between New York City-based Kalshi and Washington officials.
Kalshi, a platform that lets users buy and sell contracts based on event outcomes, filed a motion for reconsideration of the order to implement state-based geofencing — a technology that establishes a virtual perimeter around a geographic area — Thursday in King County Superior Court.
After being ordered this month to cease most operations in Washington, the company argues the state isn’t taking the same actions against competitor North American Derivatives Exchange, otherwise known as Nadex. Nadex transitioned to Crypto.com, a cryptocurrency trading platform, late last year.
Kalshi is “asking for the same treatment the Washington AG is giving other prediction markets who are free to operate while the litigation plays out,” the company’s head of litigation Jovy Dedaj wrote Friday on X. “This kind of arbitrary enforcement is exactly why prediction markets are regulated at the federal level in the first place.”
Kalshi spokesperson Jacki McGavick pointed to that statement in response to a request for comment from The Seattle Times.
Washington state Attorney General Nick Brown sued Kalshi in March, based on allegations of the company sidestepping local anti-gambling regulations.
The attorney general’s office didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Other states, including New York, Arizona, Utah and Michigan, have also taken formal actions against Kalshi, which has filed lawsuits in several cases.
King County Superior Court Judge John McHale said Kalshi illegally runs “an online betting platform” in Washington, according to his preliminary injunction granted in July. A later order this month laid out the timeline to halt most operations — geofencing based on IP address and residency by Aug. 19 and a more formal geofencing solution by Sept. 2.
Only Native American tribes can facilitate casino gambling — sports betting included — in the state, though bars and taverns can sell pull tabs, and cardrooms can run table games.
Kalshi lets traders wager money on topics like politics, culture, sports, crypto, finance and more. One trending economic prompt included: “More tech layoffs in 2026 than in 2025?” As of Friday morning, 91% speculated yes.
Notably, the order will let the company continue to take bets on climate, commodities and other select categories in Washington. Sports, politics and entertainment are missing from that limited list.
Kalshi contends that it isn’t a sportsbook or a gambling platform but a market regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
A hearing is set for Sept. 2.
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