Louisiana prediction-market lawsuit moves to federal court

Louisiana’s lawsuit against Kalshi and other prediction-market companies has been transferred from Tangipahoa Parish state court to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana. A notice of removal filed Nov. 13 opened the federal case Louisiana State v. Kalshi Inc., No. 2:26-cv-02614.

The federal docket confirms filings that day including the notice of removal, a related-cases notice and a corporate-disclosure statement. On Nov. 14, it recorded further filings labelled Vacate, Dismiss, Expedite, Request/Statement of Oral Argument and Declaration, although the publicly described docket entries do not identify an assigned judge.

The move does not automatically lift the temporary restraining order issued by a Tangipahoa Parish judge on Nov. 12. The order bars the defendants from offering event contracts to people in Louisiana without a state licence. Under 28 U.S.C. § 1450, pre-removal orders remain effective unless the federal court dissolves or modifies them, while the state court may take no further action unless the case is remanded.

The restraining order was set to expire 10 days after it was issued unless extended. A state-court hearing on Louisiana’s request for a preliminary injunction had been scheduled for Nov. 30, but the federal court now controls the removed case unless it sends it back to state court.

Attorney General Liz Murrill filed the underlying action on Nov. 12 against Kalshi, Polymarket’s U.S. operator QCX LLC, Robinhood, Coinbase, Underdog and other companies. Louisiana argues the contracts are bets that breach state gambling laws; the companies contend that event contracts are federally regulated financial products. Event contracts let users put money on specified outcomes.

The removal followed the state-court order, which was issued without first hearing the defendants’ arguments. NOLA.com reported that some users could still buy contracts after the order, while Kalshi sent Louisiana customers a message saying: “Your government says you can’t use Kalshi anymore.”

The case now proceeds amid a separate Eastern District of Louisiana action by the United States and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission challenging Louisiana’s enforcement effort, as previously reported. The claims in the Louisiana-related cases had not been decided as of the latest reporting.