Washington State Court Orders Kalshi to Block Most Prediction Markets by September 2

ME News reports that on August 14 (UTC+8), a court in Washington State, USA, issued a final ruling ordering the prediction market platform Kalshi to cease offering event contracts related to sports, elections, politics, entertainment, culture, technology, science, and “mentions of individuals” within the state. The court determined that Kalshi likely violated Washington State’s gambling regulations. The court mandated that Kalshi implement geofencing via IP address and user residence location by August 19, and upgrade to a multi-source geofencing system by September 2 to prevent users in Washington State from accessing restricted markets. Kalshi is also prohibited from promoting such betting products to consumers in the state. However, the ruling does not restrict all of Kalshi’s operations; contracts tied to commodities, climate, economic, and financial events may still be offered in Washington State. This ruling stems from a lawsuit previously filed by Washington State. Kalshi had sought a stay of the injunction, but the Washington State Court of Appeals denied the request. Meanwhile, multiple U.S. states and local governments are questioning whether Kalshi’s event contracts constitute illegal gambling under state law, while Kalshi argues its business should be regulated by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) under federal law. On the same day, Baltimore, Maryland’s largest city, also sued Kalshi and Polymarket, alleging they offered illegal gambling products. Kalshi continues to face escalating regulatory pressure at the state and local levels. (Source: BlockBeats)