A Nevada state court denied regulators’ request for an emergency temporary restraining order (TRO) to immediately halt Coinbase’s new prediction market offering and scheduled a hearing next week so the exchange can respond, Coinbase chief legal officer Paul Grewal said.
The Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB) filed a civil enforcement action in Carson City, accusing Coinbase of offering unlicensed wagers on sports event contracts and asking for a TRO and preliminary injunction to block the products for Nevada residents.
In a filing, Coinbase argued Nevada’s requested order was broader than sports betting and would effectively bar it from offering any Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)-regulated “event contracts” in the state, including those tied to financial or commodity outcomes. Coinbase also told the court there was no genuine claim of irreparable harm because Kalshi, the CFTC‑registered market whose contracts Coinbase lists, can continue to offer the same products directly to Nevada users while litigation proceeds.
Grewal said Coinbase has also gone to federal court in Nevada, seeking to block the state’s enforcement effort as a violation of federal law. He argued Congress gave the CFTC exclusive jurisdiction over these listed contracts, and that the Commodity Exchange Act preempts state attempts to recharacterize such instruments as state-regulated gambling.
The dispute follows a Nevada judge’s recent 14‑day TRO forcing Polymarket to suspend certain event markets in the state. Other states are also pushing back: in January, Tennessee’s Sports Wagering Council ordered several platforms, including Kalshi and Polymarket, to halt sport event contracts for its residents. In December, Coinbase sued regulators in Connecticut, Illinois and Michigan, asserting that prediction markets listed on a CFTC-regulated venue fall under federal jurisdiction.
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