The Nevada Gaming Control Board has filed a civil enforcement action against Coinbase Financial Markets, alleging the company offered unlicensed wagers on sporting events. In filings Monday in the First Judicial District Court of Nevada in Carson City, the board asked the court to issue a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction to prevent Coinbase from “operating a derivatives exchange and prediction market” tied to sports betting.
“The Board takes seriously its obligation to operate a thriving gaming industry and to protect Nevada citizens,” said Mike Dreitzer, chair of the Nevada Gaming Control Board. He said the action reinforces that obligation.
The enforcement action followed Coinbase’s announcement that it had launched prediction markets in all 50 U.S. states through a partnership with Kalshi. While the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) oversees Kalshi at the federal level, state regulators such as Nevada’s can still bring legal challenges.
Cointelegraph contacted a Coinbase spokesperson for comment but had not received a response at the time of publication.
Last week, a Nevada court granted a temporary restraining order against a Polymarket operator, barring the platform from offering event-based contracts to Nevada residents. The judge cited “immediate” and “irreparable” harm to regulators’ ability to control betting without a license.
The Coinbase and Polymarket cases—and similar state-level actions—could test the CFTC’s authority to regulate prediction platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket in the absence of clearer statutory guidance.
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