Nevada Gaming Control Board Hits Kalshi with Cease and Desist Order

^{Kalshi found enough legal loopholes to open a new face for American betting, but not for long if the Nevada Gaming Control Board has anything to say about it. (Image: ZUMA Press / Alamy)}

The Nevada Gaming Control Board issued a cease and desist order to Kalshi on Tuesday, telling the prediction market platform that it had 10 days to stop operating in the state.

The NGCB told Kalshi that it could not offer “event-based contracts” on sports in Nevada without a gaming license from the Nevada Gaming Commission.

NGCB Cites Sports Betting Licensing Regulations

In its release announcing the order, the NGCB also argued that because even regulated and licensed sportsbook operators in Nevada are not allowed to offer political markets, and as such, Kalshi was also prohibited from offering prediction markets on political events to users in the state.

“Every sports pool in Nevada must undergo an extensive investigation prior to licensing, must adhere to strict regulation once licensed, and must pay all applicable taxes and fees,” NGCB Chairman Kirk Hendrick said in the statement. “Any unlawful attempts to circumvent Nevada’s right to regulate gaming activity within its borders will be met with the full force of criminal and civil penalties.”

Kalshi is prediction market that is regulated at the federal level by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). After a series of court battles with the CFTC, Kalshi and other prediction markets were allowed to offer prediction markets on the 2024 US elections, and have continued to offer such political markets since then.

Sports markets have only popped up more recently on most prediction markets. Kalshi has added them in 2025, and Robinhood began offering markets on the Super Bowl before pulling those contracts after the CFTC asked them to. However, the CFTC did not deem those contracts illegal at the time.

Lawmakers, Gaming Industry Question Sports Prediction Markets

However, a growing number of state regulators are raising concerns that sports prediction markets on sites such as Kalshi are, in practical terms, a workaround for state regulations on sports betting. It’s a similar argument that lawmakers have cited against sweepstakes casino sites, which some states have argued are effectively online casinos in practice despite attempts to structure play in a way that avoids being regulated as gambling.

“Prediction contracts on sports create a backdoor way to legalize sports betting in states that have not authorized it,” Rep. Dina Titus (D-Nevada) said in a February statement.

The American Gaming Association has also expressed concerns about how futures trading markets might clash with sports betting operations when it comes to sports contracts. The AGA requested the opportunity to meet with CFTC officials and leading prediction marketplaces at a planned roundtable in Washington, D.C. in late March. 

“We believe these sports events contracts are problematic for a variety of public policy reasons, which we highlight briefly and would welcome the opportunity to discuss in more detail during the roundtable,” the AGA said in its letter to the CFTC. 

According to the NGCB statement, Kalshi has until 5 pm on March 14 to cease offering sports and political contracts in the state.

Despite its reputation as a world-class gambling hub, Nevada has relatively strict laws when it comes to online gambling and sports betting in the state.

Currently, there is only one online poker site in the state – a World Series of Poker-branded site – and there are no online casinos to compete with land-based operations in Las Vegas and elsewhere in the state. Online sports betting is only allowed if a person first registers in person at a land-based casino that offers mobile wagering.

Kalshi has yet to make a public statement on the Nevada cease and desist order.