Connecticut takes Kalshi to court to force the prediction market to stop offering sport event contract operations in the state. Sport betting is considered illegal in the state.
The lawsuit was filed by Attorney General William Tong alongside Governor Ned Lamont and Consumer Protection Commissioner Bryan T. Cafferelli. It suggests the court to block Kalshi from operating in the state fully.
The legal actions between the state and the prediction market started last year. The Department of Consumer Protection ordered Kalshi, and two other operators, to stop offering or promoting the products.
The main reason is that the regulatory authorities treat contracts as unlicensed and illegal gambling. Besides that, underage gambling also raised concerns. Minimum sports betting age in the stare is 21.
Besides this case, the prediction market had several other legal problems in the state.
Earlier this month, U.S. District Judge Vernon Oliver rejected the company’s request for an injunction that could have temporarily stopped the state from enforcing its gambling rules while the broader federal case continues. Kalshi has filed an appeal of the decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
Jovy Dedaj, the company’s litigation chief, responded to the new lawsuit in Connecticut with accusations of inconsistent enforcement by the same state. Dedaj pointed out that there were other prediction market companies operating in Connecticut even before Kalshi had been hit with legal action, which has led the company to the belief that federal regulation is needed to put an end to uneven enforcement state by state.
That belief has guided Kalshi’s conduct in courts across the country.
The federal judge in New York dismissed the company’s effort to prevent the state from enforcing its legislation back in July. Judge Analisa Torres concluded that Kalshi has not provided enough evidence at the preliminary stage to convince the court that federal commodities laws would prevail over state laws.
Connecticut has become yet another setting for a legal battle involving Kalshi on the matter of who can regulate the activity of betting.
While Kalshi’s appeal is pending in the Circuit Court, Connecticut’s new lawsuit is unfolding, and the federal government makes its own separate case against Connecticut.
