Kalshi Sues Louisiana Officials in Federal Court to Shield Its Sports Event Contracts

Prediction market operator Kalshi filed a federal lawsuit against Louisiana's top officials on 23 October 2026, asking the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana to stop the state from enforcing its gambling laws against Kalshi's sports event contracts. The Kalshi Louisiana lawsuit, KalshiEX LLC v. Murrill et al. (No. 1:26-cv-04476), is the first prediction market case filed in a state covered by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

Kalshi runs a designated contract market, a federally registered exchange supervised by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). It argues that the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) puts its event contracts under exclusive federal jurisdiction. Louisiana's position is that sports event contracts are sports wagering and need a state license.

Who Kalshi is suing and what it wants

Kalshi wants a temporary restraining order, then preliminary and permanent injunctions, barring Louisiana officials from treating its contracts as illegal gambling. The lead defendant is Attorney General Liz Murrill.

Outlets list the defendants slightly differently. Yogonet's summary of the complaint adds the Louisiana State Police Gaming Enforcement Division; DeFi Rate names the Gaming Control Board. Gamingo could not open the complaint itself, so the table follows the parties those reports agree on.

According to the reports, Kalshi says officials show a "clear intention to violate the Supremacy Clause." It also says it holds no Louisiana license and will not seek one, because any state licensing regime would intrude on the federal scheme.

What led to the filing

No enforcement action triggered the suit. Louisiana has not sued Kalshi, and no cease-and-desist letter to Kalshi has been reported. Kalshi says officials "will imminently bring an enforcement action" and points to a series of statements and laws:

The board's notice warned licensees that any involvement in event contracts "may affect" their suitability for a license. Kalshi also says the board saw no defense in a CFTC registration. That puts Louisiana in the same camp as Ohio's warning to gaming licensees this month.

Murrill was quoted in March as saying prediction markets let people bet on anything, adding: "That's gambling." Hebert said the board was "actively seeking ways to stop this," according to reports on the complaint.

Louisiana's new gambling laws

The two 2026 laws mainly targeted sweepstakes casinos, but Kalshi says they also expose it and its partners. HB 883 widened the crime of "gambling by computer" and raised the maximum fine from $20,000 to $100,000, with up to five years in prison. It passed both chambers unanimously. HB 53 brought gambling offenses under Louisiana's racketeering law, with penalties of up to 50 years and fines of up to $1 million.

The complaint also cites the attorney general's power to seek court orders to take down websites and freeze bank and credit accounts, sometimes without notice. Kalshi says that puts payment processors, geolocation providers and media affiliates at risk of criminal liability. Louisiana has been tightening its rules on wagering for some time, from higher online sports betting tax to a law targeting harassment of athletes by bettors.

A wave of suits against states

Kalshi was not the only operator to sue that week. According to RG.org, which cited court records:

• Polymarket US (QCX LLC) sued Louisiana officials in the Eastern District of Louisiana on 27 October, raising CEA preemption and Commerce Clause claims.
• Kalshi sued Missouri officials in the Eastern District of Missouri on 27 October, after a cease-and-desist letter from Attorney General Catherine Hanaway in September.
• Nadex, the North American Derivatives Exchange, sued Utah's attorney general on 26 October, after Utah sued Kalshi in state court on 20 October.

Louisiana's Gaming Control Board and the attorney general's office have not published a response. KSLA reported that Kalshi and Murrill did not answer requests for comment.

Where Kalshi's other cases stand

The federal appeals courts are split, and the U.S. Supreme Court has not yet agreed to hear any case.

The Maryland case has also drawn in tribal gaming interests, as has the California tribes' suit against Kalshi and Robinhood. DeFi Rate reports that Kalshi's response to New Jersey's Supreme Court petition is due on 9 November. A decision on the merits could come by June 2027 at the earliest, according to the lawyer Daniel Wallach. The CFTC's own position has divided opinion for some time.

Michigan: Polymarket US agrees to exit sports

On 28 October, the day Kalshi's Louisiana case drew wide coverage, the Michigan Gaming Control Board announced that Polymarket US will stop launching sports event contracts for Michigan users. It must close all open Michigan positions by the end of 25 November 2026. A federal court approved the agreement, and the state will hold off on enforcement while the company complies. Michigan had already put sports prediction markets under review in 2025 and won a state-court preliminary injunction against Kalshi.

What happens next

The court must first decide whether to grant Kalshi temporary relief while the case proceeds. Any appeal from the Western District of Louisiana would go to the Fifth Circuit, which would deepen the split or narrow it. The Louisiana officials have not yet filed a response.

Status reviewed on 29 October 2026. Gamingo could not open the complaint; details of it come from the docket listing and reports by Yogonet, DeFi Rate, Sports Betting Dime and KSLA. More legal news and North America coverage.