Utah charges Kalshi and its CEO with illegally promoting online gambling

The state of Utah has filed 14 criminal charges against Kalshi, a prediction market platform, and its CEO, Tarek Mansour, as well as COO Luana Lopes Lara. The charges include 12 counts of illegally promoting online gambling, marking an escalation in the ongoing battle against such platforms. This follows Utah's previous lawsuit against Kalshi, joining several other states like New York, Nevada, New Mexico, Washington, and Connecticut in taking legal action.

New York and Kentucky have also sued Polymarket, another prediction market platform. Arizona was the first state to file criminal charges against Kalshi in March, though a federal judge later blocked the case. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is currently contesting state-level attempts to regulate prediction markets, asserting its "exclusive jurisdiction" over the platforms.

However, a recent 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals ruling states that the CFTC has the exclusive authority to regulate prediction markets in New Jersey, where the state is currently seeking Supreme Court review. Kalshi asserts that Utah's charges are an "overreach" and plans to challenge them in court, as previously done in Arizona.