A Federal Regulator Takes Utah to Court Over Its Fight With Kalshi

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission filed suit Monday in federal court in Utah against the state and its attorney general, Derek Brown. The move came one week after Utah announced its own case against Kalshi and affiliated companies, in which the state is trying to claw back as much as $60 million in profits it says came from illegal betting. The federal agency argues that Utah is trying to restrict exchanges it oversees and cut across Congress’s plan for a single national system.

The CFTC Argument on Federal Jurisdiction

According to the complaint, the event contracts Utah is targeting count as swaps under the Commodity Exchange Act, and the platforms listing them are registered designated contract markets. The agency says a state cannot stop such an exchange from offering products the CFTC has approved. Chair Michael Selig has maintained for months that the regulator holds exclusive authority over prediction markets, which has already produced several clashes between state and federal officials.

Kalshi Response to the Utah Case

A company spokesperson, Jacki McGavick, said Kalshi answers to federal law as a national derivatives market, and that no single state should hold a veto over it.

Why a Supreme Court Ruling May Settle the Prediction Market Fight

Similar disputes are pending in Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, Nevada, Massachusetts, Wisconsin and New York. In September, New Jersey asked the Supreme Court to weigh in on its own case against Kalshi. As of Tuesday, the justices had not said whether they will hear it.