Nevada Court Extends Injunction: Kalshi Sports Prediction Market Ruled as "Quasi Gambling"

BlockBeats News, April 4th: A Nevada court ruled that the sports contracts offered by the prediction market platform Kalshi are "substantially indistinguishable" from gambling and decided to extend the temporary restraining order on its related business.

First Judicial District Court Judge Jason Woodbury stated that he would approve the Nevada Gaming Control Board's request for a preliminary injunction to prohibit Kalshi from offering certain prediction market products in the state during the case proceedings. The temporary restraining order issued on March 20th has been extended for two weeks.

The court believed that purchasing sports event contracts on the Kalshi platform is essentially equivalent to betting on a licensed gambling platform, thus constituting unlicensed gambling.

Currently, regulatory bodies in multiple U.S. states are strengthening restrictions on prediction market platforms, arguing that their sports-related products should fall under state-level gambling regulations. However, Kalshi argues that as a derivative market regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), it provides contract trading and should not be bound by state gambling laws.

Meanwhile, the CFTC has filed lawsuits in collaboration with the Department of Justice against states such as Arizona, Illinois, and Connecticut, claiming that the federal government has regulatory authority over the related businesses. This regulatory dispute is still ongoing and is expected to have a significant impact on the development of the prediction market industry.