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Prediction market platform Kalshi has pledged to contest a new lawsuit from the US state of Massachusetts, which claims the company is providing unlicensed sports wagering to its residents.
“We take pride in being the entity that has pioneered this technology and are prepared to defend it once more in a judicial setting,” a representative from Kalshi informed Cointelegraph on Friday.
“Prediction markets represent a vital innovation of the 21st century, and every American should have the opportunity to access them,” Kalshi remarked.
Kalshi is ready to combat amidst additional legal hurdles
The civil suit, submitted on Friday by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in Suffolk County Superior Court, contended that Kalshi conceals sports wagering as “event contracts” and breaches the state’s stringent gambling statutes.
“Kalshi is infringing upon the Commonwealth’s stringent sports wagering laws and regulations by providing unlicensed sports wagering to residents of Massachusetts,” the filing asserted.
It further claimed that by May 2025, over three-quarters of Kalshi’s trading activity derives from sports — a more substantial proportion, the filing noted, than industry leaders DraftKings or FanDuel.
Nonetheless, the Kalshi representative stated that Massachusetts’s regulators opted for legal action instead of directly addressing the issue:
“Instead of engaging in discussions with Kalshi, as many other states have chosen to do, Massachusetts is attempting to stifle Kalshi’s innovations by adhering to antiquated laws and concepts.”
Kalshi asserts that it is overseen by the CFTC
Kalshi has previously maintained that the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) supervises it federally and does not fall under state gambling authority.
It has received cease-and-desist directives from multiple states, including Arizona, Montana, Ohio, and Illinois.
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This situation arises as blockchain-driven prediction market Polymarket is reportedly preparing to debut in the US.
According to sources familiar with the discussions, Business Insider reported on Friday that Polymarket is considering re-entering the US while seeking new investment that could more than triple its June valuation of $1 billion. One investor appraised the company at as much as $10 billion.
This follows just days after Polymarket CEO Shayne Coplan stated in an X post on Sept. 4 that “Polymarket has been authorized to launch in the USA by the CFTC.”
“Stay tuned,” he concluded.
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