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Washington has opened a new front against Kalshi. Attorney General Nicholas Brown filed suit on Friday and is asking a court to stop the platform from operating in the state.
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The lawsuit was filed in King County Superior Court. Brown argues that Kalshi is running illegal gambling in Washington and should be blocked from doing business in the state. The complaint also seeks any financial gains Kalshi allegedly received from operations in Washington. On top of that, the state wants civil penalties for each claimed violation of the Consumer Protection Act and Gambling Act.
Brown made clear how he views the platform. He said:
“Kalshi wants people betting on almost everything possible in life – the outcome of elections, Supreme Court cases, even wars. For Kalshi, every event, every tragedy is nothing more than a potential way for Americans to risk their fortunes and for Kalshi to get rich. As they advance this bleak vision of the future, they line their pockets and pat themselves on the back for sneaking around Washington’s gambling laws. No more.”
That language matters because Washington has long taken a hard line on gambling. Some gambling is allowed on tribal lands, but not across the rest of the state. The legal base runs deep too. When Washington entered the union in 1889, its constitution barred gambling on state lands. Lawmakers later added an internet gambling ban in 2006.
Kalshi and other prediction market groups usually argue that their contracts are trades rather than bets. Still, that argument may face a rough test here. Under Washington law, gambling includes “staking or risking something of value upon the outcome of a contest of chance or a future contingent event,” and that wording appears broad enough to pull prediction contracts into the fight.