“state courts keep ruling that sports contracts look like betting, whatever the derivatives wrapper says”
Connecticut is the latest state to sue Kalshi, and the pattern is becoming a rout: Nevada, Washington, Michigan, and New York have already cordoned off sports prediction contracts, with New York seeking $36 billion and a court-ordered shutdown. Courts keep rejecting Kalshi's federal preemption defence with the same reasoning — when the product looks like sports betting, states can treat it like sports betting, derivatives wrapper or not. Paige notes the commercial irony: the CFTC keeps intervening on Kalshi's behalf while each state loss shrinks the addressable market its Cantor Fitzgerald institutional channel depends on.
No technical background needed
Platforms mentioned: Kalshi, Polymarket