• Murrill alleges the platforms' event contracts on sports, awards and elections violate Louisiana gambling law and seeks an immediate restraining order and injunction [1][2].
  • Defendants named by The Block: Kalshi, Robinhood, Polymarket, ForecastEx, Crypto.com, Coinbase, Novig, Underdog, Gemini and ProphetX [1].
  • Robinhood and Coinbase say the contracts fall under CFTC oversight; the CFTC has itself sued states to claim exclusive jurisdiction [1].

Louisiana sued a slate of prediction market operators on Thursday, Nov. 12, accusing them of running illegal online gambling. Attorney General Liz Murrill filed the suit in state court against Robinhood, Kalshi, Polymarket, Coinbase, Gemini and others, alleging that event contracts tied to sports, awards and elections violate state gambling laws [1][2]. The Block lists 10 defendants, adding ForecastEx, Crypto.com, Novig, Underdog and ProphetX; local broadcaster WAFB named five [1][2].

"For too long, they have violated our laws with impunity," Murrill wrote on X [1]. She is seeking "an immediate restraining order and an injunction" to "restore the rule of law in Louisiana" [1][2]. Louisiana is the 11th state to sue one or more prediction markets, according to The Block [1].

The defense: federal law

Kalshi had sued Murrill and Gov. Jeff Landry last month to stop them from enforcing gambling laws against it, and on Thursday it filed for an emergency temporary restraining order, saying in its filing that it "believes that the State will initiate an action against Kalshi in state court" [1][2]. Robinhood said its "event contracts are federally regulated by the CFTC and offered through Robinhood Derivatives, LLC" [1]. Coinbase called the suit "another example of the fragmented enforcement Congress sought to prevent," and the Coalition for Prediction Markets, which represents several defendants, called it "troubling and unlawful" [1].

The platforms argue that the CFTC, not states, regulates their contracts, including sports, and the CFTC has sued states seeking exclusive jurisdiction, a fight that could reach the Supreme Court [1]. States are winning some rounds: a federal judge in Manhattan ruled on Nov. 10 that Novig's sports contracts are not swaps, letting New York enforce its gambling law (our story). In Utah, Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour and COO Luana Lopes Lara face criminal charges under the state's gambling ban [2]. Kalshi also ended Donald Trump Jr.'s advisory contract on Thursday (our story) and is fielding CFTC questions over how it notified the regulator of new contracts (our story).

Companies mentioned

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