Kalshi's federal protection claims dismissed by federal judge in Utah anti-gambling law lawsuit

Odaily Planet Daily News: U.S. Federal District Judge Robert J. Shelby ruled that the Commodity Exchange Act does not prevent Utah from applying its anti-gambling laws to Kalshi's sports event contracts, granting Utah's motion for summary judgment and denying Kalshi's motion for a preliminary injunction.



Shelby stated that the jurisdictional provisions of the Commodity Exchange Act are subject to multiple reasonable interpretations, and in such cases, courts generally do not support federal law preemption. He also rejected Kalshi's argument that amendments under the Dodd-Frank Act established federal preemption for derivatives trading.



Kalshi spokesperson Jacki McGavick said the company disagrees with the ruling and will appeal to the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals. Currently, Utah users can still use sports event contracts, and the state has not yet initiated enforcement action.



The New York Attorney General has already cited the ruling as supplementary grounds in opposing the CFTC's motion for a preliminary injunction against New York state. Earlier, New York sued Kalshi last week, alleging that it operates as an unlicensed gambling operator.