Kalshi Legal Battle Moves Closer to Supreme Court After Ninth Circuit Ruling

Prediction market platform Kalshi is moving closer to a potential U.S. Supreme Court showdown after the Ninth Circuit ruled unanimously that Nevada can apply its gambling laws to Kalshi’s sports event contracts.

The court rejected Kalshi’s argument that these contracts qualify as federally regulated “swaps” under the Commodity Exchange Act. Concluding that they function more like sports betting.

The decision directly conflicts with an earlier Third Circuit ruling favoring Kalshi in New Jersey, creating a circuit split that could increase the likelihood of Supreme Court review. New Jersey has until Sept. 3 to petition the Supreme Court. Potentially setting up a landmark case over whether sports prediction markets should be regulated federally by the CFTC or under individual state gambling laws. The outcome could reshape the regulatory framework for the rapidly growing U.S. prediction-market industry.

Clever Robot News Desk 1^st September 2026