A Louisiana judge has temporarily barred Kalshi, Polymarket US, Robinhood and other prediction-market companies from offering event contracts to people in the state without Louisiana gambling licenses, escalating a legal fight over whether the products are federally regulated financial instruments or illegal wagers.
Judge Jeffrey Johnson of the 21st Judicial District Court in Tangipahoa Parish signed the temporary restraining order Thursday, hours after Attorney General Liz Murrill’s office filed suit. The order reaches contracts tied to sports, elections and awards events, among other offerings it defines as wagers.
The companies must block access to the prohibited offerings for people physically located in Louisiana and stop accepting or facilitating their wagers, according to the order. It also bars advertising or other representations to people in the state that the offerings are lawful or authorized there.
Murrill
The ruling was issued without first hearing opposition from the defendants. It expires 10 days after issuance unless extended, while a hearing on the state’s request for a preliminary injunction is scheduled for Nov. 30. The temporary order does not resolve the underlying lawsuit.
The dispute centers on competing claims of regulatory authority. Louisiana maintains that event contracts amount to gambling subject to state licensing requirements. Kalshi argues that its exchange falls under the exclusive jurisdiction of the federal Commodity Futures Trading Commission and that federal law prevents Louisiana from applying its gambling restrictions to the contracts.
“The operation of federally-regulated exchanges is the exclusive province of the federal government. Full stop,” Kalshi’s head of litigation, Jovy Dedaj, wrote Thursday on X before the order was made public, according to reporting by The Times-Picayune/The Advocate.
Murrill rejected that distinction.
“It’s not complicated: if you aren’t a licensed gaming operator, you aren’t legal,” Murrill said. “Illegal gambling is a crime and is subject to jail time and significant penalties. Judges all over the country have overwhelmingly called this activity what it is: gambling.
“Kalshi’s and the other operators’ attempts to make up new words to evade state gambling laws, regulators, and taxes are not fooling anyone.”
Event contracts allow users to buy and sell positions tied to whether a specified outcome will occur, with payment determined by the result. Kalshi says its exchange matches traders taking opposing positions rather than having customers bet against the company, and argues the contracts can help businesses manage financial risks. Louisiana’s order describes the contracts as wagers.
The defendants include entities associated with Coinbase, Gemini, Crypto.com, ForecastEx, Novig, Underdog and ProphetX, in addition to Kalshi, Polymarket US and Robinhood. The restrictions cover offering, brokering, clearing, settling and otherwise facilitating the prohibited contracts.
In a sworn statement supporting the state’s request, Michael Dupree, director of the attorney general’s Public Protection Division, said the defendants’ platforms remained accessible to people in Louisiana and continued accepting or facilitating wagers as of Thursday, including from people younger than 21. Those assertions are the state’s allegations.
Johnson found that the state had shown immediate and irreparable harm warranting emergency relief. His order cited Louisiana statutes authorizing the attorney general to seek injunctions against gambling by computer and to obtain orders disabling access to websites involved in prohibited activity.
Kalshi had already sued Murrill, Gov. Jeff Landry and other Louisiana officials in federal court on Oct. 23, seeking to prevent state enforcement against its exchange. Its complaint argues that the Commodity Exchange Act gives the CFTC exclusive authority over qualifying contracts traded on federally designated markets.
The company also contends that Louisiana’s licensing requirements conflict with the federal rules governing its nationwide exchange. It is seeking a declaration that federal law displaces the state restrictions, along with an injunction blocking their enforcement.
Kalshi sought emergency relief in that federal case Thursday.
