Nevada Court Slaps Ban on Kalshi Prediction Markets

While the popularity for prediction markets is ever-increasing, a state district judge granted Nevada gaming regulators’ request for a temporary restraining order against online prediction platform Kalshi. The ruling, announced on March 20, 2026, has barred the company from offering event contracts tied to sports, politics, and entertainment to Nevada residents. 

First Judicial District Court Judge Jason Woodbury issued the 14-day order, effective immediately, after the Nevada Gaming Control Board argued that Kalshi’s markets amount to unlicensed gambling under state law. The news was first shared by gaming lawyer Daniel Wallach on X. 

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Woodbury sided with regulators, writing that the Gaming Control Board has a strong likelihood of prevailing on the merits. He emphasized Nevada’s “expansive and strict” gambling framework serves the public interest and that harm from unlicensed operations would be “irreparable.” The order halts Kalshi’s activity in the state until a preliminary injunction hearing scheduled for April 3. 

Federal vs. state paradox

The decision follows a rapid sequence of legal maneuvers. Just one day earlier, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals rejected Kalshi’s bid for an emergency stay, clearing the path for state action after earlier federal proceedings bounced the dispute back to Carson City. 

Kalshi has maintained that its event contracts fall under exclusive federal oversight by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), not state gaming laws. The company, which offers tradable contracts on outcomes ranging from election results to game scores, views the markets as financial derivatives rather than bets. 

This Nevada action comes amid mounting state-level pressure on Kalshi. On March 17, Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes filed 20 misdemeanor criminal counts against the platform in Maricopa County Superior Court, the first criminal charges any state has brought against Kalshi, accusing it of operating an illegal gambling business by accepting wagers on elections, college sports, and player performances in violation of Arizona law. 

Mayes stated, “No company gets to decide for itself which laws to follow,” highlighting the clash between Kalshi’s federal commodity classification and state gambling prohibitions. 

The ruling marks a significant setback for Kalshi in one of the country’s premier gambling jurisdictions and echoes similar actions against other prediction platforms, including Polymarket, which faced a prior temporary block in Nevada. Industry observers say the case underscores growing tension between federal commodity rules and state gambling authority, potentially forcing platforms to geofence or exit certain markets entirely. 

Kalshi did not immediately comment on the order. The April hearing will determine whether a longer injunction takes effect while the underlying lawsuit proceeds. 

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