Sixth Circuit says states can regulate Kalshi’s prediction market

The Sixth Circuit ruled Friday that Ohio and Tennessee can regulate Kalshi's sports event contracts under state sports betting law, rejecting the company's claim that federal swap law preempts them.

The panel found the contracts are not swaps at all, since sports outcomes lack the kind of intrinsic financial consequence that would make hedging them meaningful, and added that even if they were swaps, states could still regulate the betting-like activity around them.

Kalshi's spokesperson argued the ruling proves courts can't agree and that only a single federal regulator can sort out the mess, which is one way to describe a growing stack of rulings going against you.

The Sixth Circuit now joins the Ninth against a divided Third Circuit, with New Jersey asking the Supreme Court to settle the split.

The full dispatch is available from the source below.