Utah has brought criminal charges against Kalshi and two of its leaders for the suspected promotion of unauthorized online gaming, deepening the ongoing legal dispute between the jurisdiction and the prediction markets platform.
Utah Attorney General Derek Brown filed the charges on Wednesday targeting Kalshi, CEO Tarek Mansour, and chief operating officer Luana Lopes Lara, claiming they unlawfully marketed web-based wagering and permitted an undercover operative to place bets.
"Gambling is illegal in Utah, whether you place the bet, run the game, or promote it. Calling it a ‘prediction market’ doesn’t change what it is, and being federally registered doesn’t put a company above the law," Brown stated in remarks provided to The Block.
"This is a crazy overreach; Utah is clearly playing politics," a Kalshi representative mentioned. "We look forward to putting a stop to this in court, just like we did in Arizona."
The state’s latest action follows Brown’s lawsuit against Kalshi and two Susquehanna trading companies last week, which alleged they operated an unlawful gaming enterprise within the state boundaries.
The Oct. 20 complaint contended that Kalshi breached Utah gaming statutes by allowing residents to wager on sports, elections, political races, and various other events. The state asserted that labeling wagers as "event contracts" fails to alter the true nature of what Kalshi provides.
In the meantime, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission filed suit against Utah on Tuesday, asserting that the state was encroaching upon its authority over prediction markets.
"Congress entrusted the CFTC to be the federal regulator with sole responsibility to oversee these markets," CFTC Chair Michael Selig expressed in a statement. "As I’ve said before, the CFTC has the expertise and responsibility to defend its exclusive jurisdiction over commodity derivatives, and that’s exactly what we’ll do."
The CFTC has initiated legal action against at least 10 states, including Utah, as Selig attempts to reinforce federal oversight over prediction markets throughout the Trump administration.
Polymarket, Polymarket US and Kalshi Volume (The Block)
Kalshi additionally initiated a lawsuit against Utah in February, requesting a federal court injunction to stop the state from implementing its gaming rules. Nonetheless, a judge rejected the motion, determining that the federal statute referenced by Kalshi did not bar the state from enforcing its own regulations.
The article has been updated to add Kalshi’s comment.
Originally published at https://www.theblock.co/news/business/2026-10-29-utah-criminal-charges-kalshi-432104.
