New York sues Kalshi, says its prediction markets are illegal gambling

New York’s attorney general sued prediction market operator Kalshi on Friday, claiming that its platform violates state laws against illegal gambling.

New York’s attorney general sued prediction market operator Kalshi on Friday, claiming that its platform violates state laws against illegal gambling.

In a petition filed in a state court in Manhattan, Attorney General Letitia James said Kalshi failed to obtain a New York State Gaming Commission license to operate its platform, where people trade based on the predicted outcomes of sports, elections and other events.

The attorney general said such platforms can encourage problem gambling, including by people under age 21, and endanger people’s financial, emotional and physical health.

She filed similar petitions in April against two other prediction market operators, Coinbase Financial Markets and Gemini Titan, saying all three companies’ so-called event contracts were “quintessentially” gambling.

“New York’s gambling laws protect children from underage betting and help combat gambling addiction,” James said in a statement. “No matter what they call themselves, prediction markets like Kalshi are gambling platforms, plain and simple.”