A Nevada state judge on Friday extended a temporary ban on sports-related contracts from prediction market provider Kalshi in the Silver State.
First Judicial District Court Judge Jason Woodbury told attorneys during a hearing at the Carson City courthouse that he also would grant the Nevada Gaming Control Board’s request to impose a preliminary injunction against Kalshi barring him from offering some of his prediction markets until a broader court case from the state’s gaming regulator can be resolved. He extended by two weeks the temporary restraining order he first granted on March 20 to adjust the wording of the injunction, Reuters reported Friday.
The judge’s initial temporary restraining order blocked Kalshi from offering betting on sports, entertainment and elections.
The judge said buying a contract for a baseball game in Kalshi was “indistinguishable” from betting on a state gaming platform, Reuters reported.
“I therefore conclude, based on the arguments that have been presented, that this is a gambling activity prohibited to any non-license holder,” he said.
Spokespeople for Kalshi and the Nevada Gaming Control Board did not respond to requests for comment.
State regulators have moved to block prediction market providers across much of the United States, arguing that these companies’ sports-related products appear to be gambling products that should be regulated at the state level. Kalshi and other prediction market providers say they are federally regulated designated contract markets that offer swaps, a type of derivative, and therefore are not subject to state regulators.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission, led by its chairman Mike Selig, has taken a position in favor of these companies. He filed an amicus brief with the appeals court earlier this year and sued Arizona, Illinois and Connecticut on Thursday alongside the Justice Department, arguing that he was the appropriate regulator and alleging that the states were violating his role.
The hearing took place on the same day as another hearing in federal court in Arizona. At that hearing, Kalshi had filed a request to block state regulators from filing a request to block the prediction market provider’s products in the state. Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes previously filed a complaint alleging criminal charges against Kalshi.
According to the court, District Judge MIchael Liburdi heard the arguments and is reviewing the motion.
