Michigan wins injunction blocking Kalshi sports wagers

Michigan won a preliminary injunction against KalshiEx, LLC that bars the company from offering online sports wagers in the state and requires geofencing to keep people in Michigan from reaching the contracts. The order also warns that violations could trigger fines of $500,000 a day.

The signed order, dated Sept. 1 and released by the attorney general’s office, says Kalshi is enjoined from any activity connected with sports wagering in Michigan. It bars the firm from offering, listing, matching, executing, clearing, settling or otherwise facilitating any contract or product that qualifies as internet sports betting under Michigan law.

The injunction also prohibits Kalshi from accepting deposits, stakes, consideration or fees tied to those contracts from people located in Michigan. It further bars the company from advertising, promoting, marketing or soliciting participation in the products to people in the state or to users with a Michigan address.

The court ordered Kalshi to use a third-party geolocation services provider licensed by the Michigan Gaming Control Board and capable of meeting the board’s geofencing specifications. If the court later finds Kalshi did not comply with those requirements, the order says the company must pay $500,000 for each day of noncompliance.

The state’s lawsuit, filed in March, accuses KalshiEx of violating the Lawful Sports Betting Act by running an online operation that lets Michigan residents bet on sports outcomes while presenting the activity as trading event contracts. The complaint also says Kalshi was doing business in Michigan without approval from the Michigan Gaming Control Board.

Kalshi tried to move the case to federal court after it was filed in state court, but the remand motion was granted and the case went back to Ingham County Circuit Court.

As reported in June, a temporary restraining order had already barred Kalshi from offering or advertising internet sports betting in Michigan. At an Aug. 17 hearing, both sides asked the court to rule on the request for a preliminary injunction, and the judge said on the record that the state had met the requirements for one.

The order says Michigan and its most vulnerable residents face immediate and irreparable harm without relief. It points to the state’s 21-and-over gambling rule and says Kalshi allows wagers beginning at 18. The injunction remains in effect until a final order is issued in the case.