Nevada regulator goes on offensive against Kalshi in state court
Nevada’s gaming regulator is pursuing civil enforcement action against Kalshi in state court, as it seeks to block the predictions market operator from offering event contracts across the Silver State.
The Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB) filed a lawsuit in state court on Tuesday asking a judge to block the prediction market platform from offering event contracts in the state. In the filing in Carson City District Court, the regulator accused Kalshi of operating unlawful activities under state law. The NGCB filed both an ex parte application for an immediate temporary restraining order and a complaint for a permanent injunction against Kalshi.
It’s the latest escalation of a litigious dispute between Kalshi and Nevada which began when the NGCB sent Kalshi a cease-and-desist notice in March 2025. Kalshi sued the regulator in federal court and was initially granted an injunction, but that decision was later dissolved.
News of the NGCB’s state court filing came on the same day that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit denied Kalshi’s emergency motion for an administrative stay in Nevada in that federal lawsuit. An administrative stay is a short-term order to pause enforcement while a court considers a regular stay motion. Kalshi’s main motion for a stay is still pending.
AG’s office vowed action
Last week, Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford’s office vowed that it would step up the fight against Kalshi, emphasizing that the operator has not only continued to operate in Nevada but “dramatically” expanded its business by adding more sports contracts.
Kalshi’s continued presence in Nevada and its claim to be “100% legal in all 50 states” causes “substantial irreparable harms” to the state, the NGCB, Nevada’s gaming industry and the public interest, said the AG’s office.
The NGCB’s Feb. 17 complaint asked the state court for a declaration and injunction to stop Kalshi from offering unlicensed wagering in violation of Nevada law.
“The board considers offering sports event contracts, or certain other event contracts, to constitute wagering activity under NRS 463.0193 and 463.01962 and, therefore, entities offering such event contracts must be licensed,” said the NGCB in a press release issued Tuesday to announce the filing. “The board has deemed Kalshi’s operations to be unlawful in Nevada.”
“The board continues to vigorously fulfill its obligation to safeguard Nevada residents and gaming patrons, and uphold the integrity of a thriving gaming industry,” said NGCB Chairman Mike Dreitzer. The NGCB reiterated that Nevada’s public policy is that the gaming industry is vitally important to the state’s economy and to the general welfare of the inhabitants and therefore “must be licensed, controlled and assisted” to protect the public health, safety and welfare.
Kalshi immediately filed to remove the state court case to federal court, arguing that only federal law applies to prediction markets and that the new state lawsuit concerns the same questions as those already being assessed in federal court.
Nevada hopes to emulate Massachusetts
The NGCB filed its promised state civil enforcement action while the federal court case between the board and Kalshi awaits the next steps in an appeals court.
Nevada will be hoping to emulate what happened in Kalshi’s lawsuit in Massachusetts, where a judge granted the attorney general’s request for an injunction on Feb. 5. However, although that injunction was set to take effect 30 days after the ruling, a Massachusetts appeals court this week granted Kalshi a stay, putting the injunction’s enaction on hold while Kalshi appeals.
Meanwhile, Nevada authorities had success in getting a temporary restraining order against Kalshi competitors Crypto.com and Polymarket. The first of those companies pulled its sports contracts in Nevada last October, and Polymarket was hit with a temporary shutdown order as a result of a Carson City court decision at the end of January.
https://sbcamericas.com/2026/02/18/nevada-attorney-general-sues-kalshi/