Attorney General Bonta Defends State Gambling Laws Against Kalshi, Again

Joins bipartisan coalition in amicus briefs for the tenth and eleventh time

OAKLAND - California Attorney General Rob Bonta today joined two bipartisan coalitions of attorneys general in filing two amicus briefs in support of New York and Wisconsin's right to enforce state sports gaming and gambling laws against prediction market operator Kalshi. The attorneys general primarily argue that federal preemption of state gambling laws as applied to prediction market providers is improper and detrimental to the traditional role of states to regulate gambling and protect vulnerable citizens. These filings mark the tenth and eleventh time California has joined multistate amicus efforts targeting Kalshi and similar prediction market companies

"We are seeing more and more young people being preyed upon by addictive gaming platforms and it is time for states to join together to protect our youth. This filing is representative of our bipartisan commitment to protecting state regulatory authority over illegal, unregulated gambling operations," said Attorney General Bonta. "Prediction markets cannot use federal loopholes to bypass state consumer protection, sports gaming, and gambling laws. By joining this brief, we stand firmly with Wisconsin, New York, and our state partners to ensure that federal commodities laws are not weaponized to evade state laws, fuel gambling addiction, and undermine state regulation of legal gaming."

In the New York case, KalshiEX, LLC v. Williams, et al, Kalshi sued the New York State Gaming Commission after the Commission sent a cease-and-desist order to Kalshi. The district court denied Kalshi's preliminary injunction motion, holding that New York gambling laws as applied to Kalshi's sports-event contracts are not preempted. Kalshi has appealed this decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

The Wisconsin case, Commodities Futures Trading Commission v. State of Wisconsin, arose out of Wisconsin's filing of an action in state court against Coinbase, Kalshi, Robinhood, Polymarket, and Crypto.com. After the prediction market providers moved the cases to federal court, CFTC filed its own federal lawsuit against Wisconsin, alongside a motion for a preliminary injunction to block the state from enforcing its gambling laws. The district court denied CFTC's preliminary injunction motion. CFTC has appealed this decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.

Attorney General Bonta joins the attorneys general of Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawai'i, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming in filing the briefs.

Here is a copy of the New York brief.

Here is a copy of the Wisconsin brief.