Arkansas Sues Kalshi Over Alleged Illegal Sports Betting Platform

Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin sued Kalshi Wednesday over its sports-event contracts, alleging they amount to illegal gambling and sharpening a jurisdictional fight over state betting laws and federal derivatives oversight.

Griffin argues that putting money on whether a team wins or loses is gambling, and that Arkansas law bars such activity on platforms without state approval. The complaint says Kalshi permits 18-year-olds to wager on sports and entertainment results, bypassing state restrictions on casinos and sports betting.

Griffin asks a judge to find that Kalshi violated the Arkansas Deceptive Trade Practices Act and to order the company to pay damages.

Kalshi is regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and has argued that its sports contracts are federally regulated financial derivatives, rather than gambling. Kalshi operates a prediction market with contracts tied to event outcomes.

The case is part of a broader dispute over whether federal derivatives rules or state gambling laws govern sports-event contracts.