Washington State Court Orders Kalshi to Halt Some Prediction Market Services

A Washington state court has ordered prediction market platform Kalshi to suspend part of its operations.

Cointelegraph reported Aug. 15 that King County Superior Court Judge John McHale issued a preliminary injunction barring Kalshi from offering event contracts related to sports, elections, politics, entertainment, culture, technology and science in Washington state. Prediction market services tied to commodities, climate, the economy and finance were excluded from the order.

The court found that Washington state had substantiated its claim that Kalshi's services violate state gambling laws. Washington Attorney General Nick Brown welcomed the decision, saying it holds the company accountable for operating illegal gambling.

Under the ruling, Kalshi must implement a geoblocking system based on IP addresses and residency information by Aug. 19. By Sept. 2, it must apply GeoComply's multi-data geoblocking system.

Kalshi has maintained that the Commodity Futures Trading Commission has exclusive oversight of its exchange and that its services are not subject to state gambling laws. The Washington Court of Appeals, however, rejected Kalshi's request to pause the order.