Massachusetts Judge Bars Kalshi from Offering Sports Bets: Report

Prediction markets platform Kalshi could face legal complications operating in the US state of Massachusetts after a judge reportedly ruled that residents could not use the website for sports betting.

According to a Tuesday Reuters report, Suffolk County Superior Court Judge Christopher Barry-Smith said he would issue a preliminary injunction against Kalshi prohibiting the platform from offering sports betting for residents without the required gaming license. 

The ruling followed Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell filing a lawsuit against Kalshi in September, alleging that the platform offered “illegal and unsafe sports wagering.” According to Reuters, Tuesday’s injunction came at Campbell’s request.

Related: Polymarket, Dow Jones deal puts prediction markets data in Wall Street Journal

Cointelegraph reached out to a Kalshi spokesperson for comment, but had not received a response at the time of publication.

Along with Polymarket, Kalshi is one of the biggest prediction markets platforms globally. Both websites offer event contracts on a variety of subjects, from US politics to the outcome of European sporting events.

Other US states and federal lawmakers target prediction markets

The Massachusetts lawsuit against Kalshi is just one of several legal actions individual US states and lawmakers have taken in response to the largely unregulated prediction markets platforms.

Although Kalshi scored a legal win against the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission in 2024 over bets on elections, prediction markets continue to attract scrutiny from many lawmakers.

In January, a Polymarket user netted more than $400,000 on a contract related to the removal of then-Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro by US forces. The bet prompted allegations of insider trading and conflicts of interest, as well as calls from lawmakers to address who should be allowed to place political prediction markets bets.