The war between Utah and the federal government over control of online prediction markets like Kalshi found another battleground this week.
That’s because the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the U.S. government entity that regulates derivatives markets like agricultural futures, sued the Beehive State in federal court on Tuesday.
The feds are seeking a ruling that would prevent Utah’s lawsuit against Kalshi from proceeding, and a further injunction that would prevent the state from investigating “CFTC-regulated entities and their affiliates and partners” for violating state laws.
The state’s lawsuit against Kalshi, filed last week, argued that the prediction market had undertaken a “brazen pattern of unlawful conduct” when allowing Utahns to trade event contracts on its platform. Those contracts allow users to speculate on future events, including the outcome of political races, sporting events, and even the weather.
Gov. Spencer Cox and Attorney General Derek Brown have called that illegal betting, and the state’s lawsuit said Kalshi was operating as “the manager of a back-alley gambling den” in its markets.
Brown’s office declined to comment on the CFTC lawsuit because “it is ongoing.”
Read the full article by Andy Larsen at sltrib.com.
This article is published through the Utah News Collaborative, a partnership of news organizations in Utah that aims to inform readers across the state.