Kalshi says Washington is enforcing gambling laws selectively as rivals stay active

Kalshi has accused Washington state regulators of selectively enforcing gambling laws, saying other designated contract market firms remain active while its own event contracts are being restricted. The company asked the Washington State Gambling Commission to re-examine its enforcement record on the issue.

According to KHQ, the letter named Polymarket and North American Derivatives Exchange as examples of other DCMs operating in Washington. Kalshi’s attorney said the attorney general had not taken action against other DCMs or futures commission merchants offering event contracts identical to those Kalshi is barred from offering in the state, and said the inconsistency could not be explained by any legitimate distinction between Kalshi and its competitors.

A spokesperson for the attorney general’s office responded that the state does not have to simultaneously prosecute every potentially similar operator to obtain a judgment against one of them.

As reported in August, a King County Superior Court judge ordered Kalshi to cut most of its Washington markets after finding it likely violated state gambling law. The order barred wagers tied to sports, elections, politics, entertainment, culture, technology, science and “mentions”, while leaving commodities, climate, economics and finance contracts in place.

Washington Attorney General Nick Brown had already sued Kalshi, saying the platform operates and advertises online betting that falls under the state Gambling Act and Consumer Protection Act. The office said Kalshi entered the betting market in 2025, first allowing Washington consumers to bet on college and pro sports, and that the lawsuit seeks to halt the conduct, recover money lost by Washingtonians and assess civil penalties.

The attorney general’s office has argued that Kalshi tries to rebrand its product as a prediction market to skirt state law, but that its activities still fit Washington’s definition of gambling. The state gambling commission’s guidance says offering events-based contracts or participating in prediction markets is not authorized in Washington, while also noting that the future of prediction markets remains subject to ongoing litigation in federal and state courts.