Kalshi Files New Lawsuit Against US Regulators Over Sports Betting Ban

^{Pictured: Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour}

Prediction market platform Kalshi, based in New York, has filed a fresh lawsuit targeting the Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Commission (MLGCC) after the agency issued a cease-and-desist order blocking the company’s operations.

In the complaint, Kalshi claims the commission’s actions risk causing “irreparable harm” to its business model.

The lawsuit was first flagged by betting law expert Daniel Wallach, who shared the news on X (formerly Twitter) on the morning of April 22.

This isn’t Kalshi’s first legal battle. The platform previously sued the Nevada Gaming Control Board and New Jersey’s Division of Gaming Enforcement after both regulators demanded it shut down its sports betting operations.

The growing legal conflict stems from recent enforcement moves across multiple states — Illinois, Ohio, Nevada, New Jersey, and Maryland — each of which has formally warned Kalshi that it is operating without the required gambling licenses to take bets within state lines.

Kalshi, however, argues it isn’t a bookmaker. The company insists it runs as a decentralized prediction market, not a gambling operator. Under that definition, Kalshi says it falls under federal oversight from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission — not state-level gaming regulators — allowing it to sidestep gambling laws.