Kalshi was denied a preliminary injunction in its Southern District of New York case, leaving the exchange exposed to New York’s gambling-law claims over sports event contracts.
Judge Analisa Torres found that the Commodity Exchange Act does not preempt New York’s gambling laws as applied to Kalshi’s sports contracts at this stage of the case. The order moves the dispute into motion-to-dismiss briefing instead of blocking state enforcement through emergency relief.
The ruling cuts against Kalshi’s argument that federally regulated event contracts sit outside state gambling enforcement. Kalshi has positioned its sports markets as CFTC-regulated contracts listed on a designated contract market. New York is treating the same products as sports wagering activity subject to state restrictions.
Federal Preemption Fight Tightens
The New York order adds another adverse state-law decision to Kalshi’s sports-contract docket after courts split over how far federal derivatives law reaches. The exchange has won protection in some cases, but the SDNY decision keeps New York’s claims alive and gives other state regulators another court order to cite in parallel disputes.
Kalshi’s strongest line remains federal preemption. The exchange argues that CFTC-regulated event contracts should not be subject to a state-by-state gambling regime. State regulators argue that sports contracts based on game outcomes, player performance or other sports results can still operate like wagers even when listed through a federally regulated exchange.
That divide has already widened across the prediction-market sector. Kentucky targeted Kalshi and Polymarket in illegal sportsbook lawsuits, accusing the platforms of offering sports event contracts without state gaming licenses or betting-product consumer protections.
The federal side has also pushed back. The CFTC sued Kentucky as the prediction-market fight spread to a ninth state, arguing that state enforcement interferes with federally regulated contract markets and designated contract market operations.
Sports Contracts Stay Under Legal Pressure
The SDNY decision lands while prediction-market operators face pressure from state regulators, gaming groups and federal lawmakers. Sports markets have become the main fault line because they blur the line between event contracts, financial markets and sportsbook-style products.
Kalshi and Polymarket are also under congressional scrutiny over market integrity. House Oversight requested documents on KYC, access controls and suspicious-trading safeguards after opening a probe into insider-trading risk across prediction-market platforms.
Judge Torres’ order keeps the New York case active at the pleading stage. Kalshi now moves into dismissal briefing without the preliminary injunction it wanted against enforcement of New York’s gambling laws on sports event contracts.
