Arkansas sues Kalshi, calling it an illegal gambling platform, as the CFTC insists it alone regulates prediction markets

Arkansas has become the latest state to take Kalshi to court. Attorney General Tim Griffin sued the prediction-market operator on Wednesday, alleging it operates an illegal gambling platform, The Block reported. The article does not name the court.

Griffin said Kalshi lets users bet on nearly any outcome and that wagering on Razorbacks games is "squarely prohibited" under Arkansas law. He also pointed to harms including excessive wagering, financial losses and depression. The Block said it had asked Kalshi for comment.

The suit follows action in Utah. The state sued Kalshi and two Susquehanna trading firms on October 20, and The Block says it later charged Kalshi, chief executive Tarek Mansour and chief operating officer Luana Lopes Lara with illegally promoting online gambling, with an undercover agent placing wagers.

Kalshi has argued in other lawsuits that its event contracts are derivatives regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, so state gambling law does not apply. The agency agrees: The Block says it has sued at least 10 states, and Chair Michael Selig has said it will defend its "exclusive jurisdiction." Courts will have to decide which side of that line prediction markets fall on.