Louisiana Judge Orders Temporary Restraining Order to Prediction Markets

• Louisiana District Judge Jeffrey Johnson issued a temporary restraining order against a number of prediction market companies
• Judge Johnson issued the temporary restraining order on the same day Attorney General Liz Murrill sued the companies
• The restraining order cease after 10 days of issuance

A Louisiana district judge has issued a temporary restraining order to 10 prediction market companies to cease event contract operations in the state.

Judge Jeffrey Johnson, 21st Judicial District Court, Parish of Tangipahoa, ordered temporary restraining orders prohibit companies such as Kalshi, Polymarket, Robinhood, and other platforms from offering event contracts in the state. The restraining order will cease after 10 days of being issued.

The temporary restraining order was issued hours after Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill filed a sweeping lawsuit against nearly every single prediction market company offering event contracts in the state.

Restraining Order Set in Place

Murrill filed the lawsuit in the 21st Judicial District Court, Parish of Tangipahoa. Murrill and the state of Louisiana petitioned for a temporary restraining order, preliminary injunction, civil penalties, and other relief the court may provide against the listed prediction market companies.

According to Murrill, the companies included in the lawsuit do not comply with Louisiana gambling laws, essentially offering unlicensed sports betting and gambling through their offered sports and entertainment event contracts.

The following prediction market platforms will be required to geofence Louisiana and prohibit event contract trades:

• Kalshi
• Robinhood
• Crypto.com
• Polymarket
• Underdog
• ForecastEx
• Gemini Titan
• Novig
• ProphetX
• Coinbase

“It’s not complicated: if you aren’t a licensed gaming operator, you aren’t legal. Illegal gambling is a crime and is subject to jail time and significant penalties. Judges all over the country have overwhelmingly called this activity what it is: gambling. Kalshi’s and the other operators’ attempts to make up new words to evade state gambling laws, regulators, and taxes are not fooling anyone,” Murrill said on her X account.

Murrill’s lawsuit came less than a month after Kalshi filed a preliminary lawsuit against the state and the attorney general in U.S. District Court Western District of Louisiana. Kalshi filed the lawsuit against Louisiana and Murrill to prohibit the state from enforcing its state gambling laws. In the litigation, Kalshi correctly predicted the state would “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 Preliminary Injunction Motion Pending

Kalshi filed a preliminary injunction against the state in U.S. District Court Western District of Louisiana hours after Murrill’s lawsuit. Kalshi submitted a motion for orders temporarily restraining and preliminarily enjoining the state from pursuing any action against Kalshi and its affiliates concerning event contract trading.

“Based on recent discussions with representatives of the state of Louisiana, Kalshi believes that the State will initiate an action against Kalshi in state court to restrict Kalshi from operating in Louisiana. As a result, Kalshi faces imminent criminal, administrative, and forfeiture exposure—notwithstanding that the CFTC, the federal agency with exclusive jurisdiction over Kalshi’s event contracts, has repeatedly explained that they are lawful,” Kalshi counsel wrote in the notice.

A preliminary injunction, they claim, is more than appropriate due to the “imminent enforcement action.”