Washington State Judge Orders Kalshi to Shut Down Most Prediction Markets

Judge bars Kalshi from offering most prediction markets in Washington State. A Seattle judge ordered Kalshi to stop allowing residents to wager on the sports, elections, tech, and culture markets they were previously buying into. The platform must implement preliminary geofencing by next Wednesday, and it's required to deploy a more effective virtual boundary by September 2. Washington's attorney general originally sued the company in March for violating state gambling laws established in 1889. Prediction markets have attracted billions of dollars in trades, but more than a dozen states are now actively pursuing legal action against them. "As this case moves forward, we will continue to enforce Washington law and hold Kalshi accountable for misleading consumers." — Nick Brown. State regulators are proving they don't care about the CFTC's federal jurisdiction shield.