Utah Sues Kalshi, Seeks $61 Million Over Alleged Illegal Gambling

Last week, Utah filed a suit against Kalshi to block the prediction market from offering sports event contracts and more in the state. This follows a federal judge's ruling against the company for trying to bypass state gambling laws.

Attorney General Derek Brown officially filed the lawsuit on Tuesday, October 20. The goal is not only to shut Kalshi down, but also to get millions of dollars after Kalshi collected it via what the state calls illegal gambling.

Utah is a bit unique when compared to other states because Utah is adamantly opposed to all forms of gambling, including lotteries.

“Utah has said no to gambling since statehood in 1896, and that didn’t change when betting moved onto cellphones,” Brown said last Tuesday during a news conference.

Utah Seeks $61.2 Million in Kalshi Fees and Geolocation Controls

According to the suit filed by Attorney General Brown, Kalshi collected more than $61.2 million in fees alone from traders in Utah. The suit also mentions that there are about 32,000 verified accounts from Utah residents; that count was as of February 2026.

On top of everything else, Utah wants Kalshi to implement court-approved geolocation controls.

Kalshi Cites Federal CFTC Authority Amid Conflicting Court Rulings

Kalshi believes the Commodity Futures Trading Commission has jurisdiction over event contracts, not individual states.

“As a national derivatives market overseen by the CFTC, Kalshi answers to federal law, and no single state should have a veto over it,” a Kalshi spokesperson said.

This past August, a federal court found that the CFTC’s jurisdiction doesn’t override Utah's rules. Kalshi appealed the decision to the 10th Circuit, but the appeal was denied.

That said, various courts have had different rulings. For example, the Third Circuit ruled in favor of Kalshi, and New Jersey has since petitioned the Supreme Court, which the NFL is also backing. Meanwhile, the Sixth Circuit ruled in favor of Ohio and Tennessee.