Washington Judge Bars Kalshi From Seven Market Categories and Sets a September Geofencing Deadline

A King County Superior Court judge has ordered Kalshi to stop offering its most popular markets in Washington state, following a preliminary injunction he granted the state last month to enforce its gambling laws.

Judge John McHale barred Kalshi from listing markets in seven categories: culture, elections, mentions, politics, science, sports and tech. "The State has demonstrated a well-grounded fear of immediate invasion of consumers' legal rights," he wrote. "Kalshi has willfully ignored a Washington State Gambling Commission notice stating that offering event-based contracts is not authorized in Washington state."

He also rejected the preemption argument Kalshi runs nationally. "Regulation of gambling and regulation of futures markets are different fields of regulation," McHale wrote. "Allowing for continued State regulation of activities that fit within the legal framework of gambling in the State of Washington under RCW 9.46 does not subvert the purpose of the CEA to uniformly regulate actual futures trading. Complying with Washington law would not prevent Kalshi from complying with applicable Federal law."

The order requires full geofencing by September 3, with fines of up to $120,000 for each day of non-compliance after that. Prediction market operators argue that state-by-state geofencing would break their federal obligation to offer uniform access, though geofencing is standard for licensed sportsbooks complying with the Wire Act. Kalshi left Nevada entirely rather than meet a similar requirement and conceded in Michigan.

Kalshi must also stop advertising and marketing to Washington and make "good faith efforts" to exclude the state from national campaigns, a restriction that bites with the NFL season approaching.

"Kalshi has gotten rich promoting wagers on sports, elections, natural disasters, events related to the Iran War, and more. Under this order, Kalshi is banned from offering wagers on most of those topics in Washington," said Attorney General Nick Brown. "As this case moves forward, we will continue to enforce Washington law and hold Kalshi accountable for misleading consumers."

Kalshi's only recent win came in Minnesota, partly on grounds that a law banning all event contracts likely intruded on federal jurisdiction. Rival Novig has taken the opposite tack, suing New York pre-emptively rather than waiting for enforcement. The mentions category named in the order is the same one now under federal investigation.