Kalshi Sues Louisiana Attorney General To Prohibit State Gambling Laws

• Kalshi has filed a lawsuit against Louisiana as it claims it faces an imminent risk
• Counsel claims Louisiana will attempt to enforce state laws to prohibit sports event contracts
• Kalshi pointed to public comments made by Attorney General Liz Murrill describing sports event contracts as “gambling”

Prediction market operator Kalshi is not taking any chances in Louisiana.

Kalshi filed a lawsuit against Louisiana and Attorney General Liz Murrill to prohibit the state from enforcing its state gambling laws. Kalshi believes the state will “imminently bring an enforcement action with the intent to bar Kalshi from offering event contracts,” noting actions taken by the Louisiana Gaming Control Board and public comments made by Murrill regarding their event contracts.

Kalshi pointed to a new law that took effect on Aug. 1, 2026, which expands the definition of “gambling by computer” that may make it easier for the state to prohibit sports event contracts if it so chooses.

Preempting Louisiana State Laws

Kalshi is requesting a temporary restraining order, preliminary injunction, and permanent injunction prohibiting Louisiana from enforcing its state gambling laws against its sports event contracts.

As is the case with most of Kalshi’s state lawsuits, the company contends the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) grants the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) exclusive jurisdiction over event contracts.

“But Louisiana has taken a different view, and Kalshi believes it will imminently bring an enforcement action with the intent to bar Kalshi from offering event contracts. Defendants have repeatedly made clear that they believe event contracts like Kalshi’s are illegal under Louisiana’s gambling laws. The Louisiana Gaming Control Board (the “Board”) has formally declared that such contracts are illegal gambling even when listed on a CFTC-regulated exchange, and that it ‘sees no defense to offering such activity pursuant to a CFTC license.’,” counsel wrote in the lawsuit.

Kalshi pointed to public comments and actions made by the Louisiana Gaming Control Board (LGCB) and Attorney General Murrill regarding its sports event contracts in the state. In December 2025, LGCB Chairman Christopher B. Hebert signed an “advisory notice regarding prediction markets” directed to Louisiana license holders that the board declared it “considers purported sporting event contracts and certain other event contracts as illegal gambling in violation of the Louisiana Criminal Code and Louisiana Gaming Control Law.”

Additionally, in a March 2026 article in The Advocate, Murrill publicly said she was “very concerned” of prediction markets and they allow people to “bet on anything you can think of. That’s gambling.”

“Upon information and belief, Defendants will imminently bring an enforcement action against Kalshi to stop it from offering event contracts for trading on its federally regulated exchange. In doing so, Defendants would seek to subject Kalshi to the patchwork of state regulation that Congress created the CFTC to prevent, and to interfere with the CFTC’s exclusive authority to regulate derivatives trading on the exchanges it oversees,” counsel wrote.

New Louisiana Law Poses Threat

A Louisiana law that went into effect this past August may also pose a threat to Kalshi’s sports event contracts. HB 883 ended the operation of dual-currency social gaming platforms in the state, while also expanding the definition of “gambling by computer.”

The bill prohibits any form of unlicensed internet gambling that uses a dual-currency system of payment allowing a player to exchange a currency for a prize, award, cash or cash equivalent. Kalshi notes in its lawsuit that this law may put the company at risk through temporary or permanent injunctions.

“On the Attorney General’s application, ‘regardless of whether proceedings have been initiated,’ courts may order the removal of websites and the freezing of associated bank and credit accounts, including through ex parte injunctions, and in such actions a violation ‘shall conclusively be determined irreparable harm.’ These laws also expose platform providers, geolocation providers, media affiliates, and payment processors to criminal penalties.”