Tarek Mansour, co-founder and CEO of prediction markets platform Kalshi, rejected criminal charges filed this week by Arizona authorities, calling them a “total overstep” and insisting the case is “not about gambling.” Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes announced charges alleging Kalshi operated an illegal gambling business in Arizona without a license and offered unlawful election wagering. Mansour told Bloomberg that Mayes was trying to “subvert the judicial process” by bringing charges after Kalshi had filed its own lawsuit against the state.
“We see this as a total overstep and we look forward to fighting it in court,” Mansour said, while adding that the company would “abide by court decisions” as the matter proceeds.
Kalshi faces similar enforcement actions from gaming regulators in other states over allegations that the platform provided unlicensed sports wagering to residents. Arizona’s move is notable as one of the first to bring criminal charges; state-level cases have arisen as prediction markets like Polymarket draw scrutiny from lawmakers for listing bets on U.S. military actions and other sensitive topics.
Kalshi argues in ongoing litigation that the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has exclusive jurisdiction to regulate its markets, not state authorities. CFTC Chair Michael Selig, confirmed by the Senate, echoed that view on X, calling the prosecution a jurisdictional dispute and “entirely inappropriate as a criminal prosecution,” and saying the CFTC is monitoring the situation.
Courts have issued mixed rulings: an Ohio judge recently denied Kalshi’s request for a preliminary injunction based on the CFTC jurisdiction argument, while a Tennessee court blocked state officials from enforcing gambling laws against Kalshi in February.
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