Utah Attorney General Derek Brown has sued Kalshi, affiliated companies and two Susquehanna trading firms, accusing them of operating illegal gambling markets in the state since at least 2024. The complaint seeks to stop contracts tied to sports, elections, politics, culture and so-called mention bets, which involve whether someone will say a particular word or phrase. Brown described the operation as a public nuisance causing substantial ongoing harm to Utah residents.
The state estimates Kalshi collected between $30 million and $60 million in fees from Utah users and says the company also earned about $5. 5 million from losing wagers. The complaint seeks restitution, damages and a court declaration that the contracts are illegal under Utah law. It also asks for an injunction barring Kalshi from offering event contracts in Utah and requiring court-approved geolocation controls to prevent residents from accessing the platform.
The figures come from information Kalshi provided in earlier litigation. It also alleges that about 80% to 90% of the platform’s wagers involve sporting events and that Kalshi promoted itself as a nationwide legal sports-betting platform.
The new case follows Kalshi’s February lawsuit against Utah after lawmakers classified proposition betting on prediction markets as gambling. On Aug. 4, a federal judge ruled that the Commodity Exchange Act did not preempt Utah’s anti-gambling laws and granted summary judgment to state officials. Kalshi appealed, and an appellate court later denied its request for an injunction that would have allowed it to operate while the appeal continued.
Kalshi rejects Utah’s characterization of its business. The company says customers trade contracts with one another, set the prices and use a federally regulated derivatives exchange overseen by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. It argues that no individual state should be able to veto federally regulated event contracts and says the new state lawsuit does not affect its federal litigation.
The dispute is part of a broader conflict between state gambling authorities and prediction-market companies. Civil cases involving Kalshi or similar platforms have been filed in multiple states, while the CFTC maintains that federal law gives it exclusive jurisdiction over the contracts. The legal conflict remains unresolved as Utah pursues its requested injunction, repayment and other remedies in state court.