TechFlow to a report by The Block on March 11, TechFlow reported that Chief Judge Sarah D. Morrison of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio rejected Kalshi's preliminary injunction application. Kalshi was attempting to prevent Ohio regulators from enforcing state gambling laws on its event contracts.
In its ruling, the judge stated that "historical evidence suggests that Congress has no intention of prioritizing federal law over state sports betting laws." Kalshi argued that its event contracts were governed by the Commodity Exchange Act, enforced by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), and that federal power should supersede state law. However, the judge cited the legal context of the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act amendments, noting that there was no evidence that Congress intended for the Commodity Exchange Act to supersede sports betting laws.
Last year, the Ohio Casino Regulatory Commission accused Kalshi of operating illegal sports betting in the state. A Kalshi spokesperson said they would appeal, noting that the ruling contradicted a decision made a few weeks earlier by a federal court in Tennessee. The outcome of this case could affect the legal prospects of other prediction market platforms, including Polymarket.
