Kalshi ordered to block Washington bets
Washington residents will soon be restricted from placing wagers on sports, politics and entertainment on Kalshi, an internet gambling site, after a King County judge found the company likely operated in violation of the Washington Gambling Act and the Consumer Protection Act.
The order, signed by Superior Court Judge John F. McHale on Wednesday, prohibits the company from “marketing, advertising, promoting, conducting, operating, facilitating, distributing, offering, or accepting event contracts, or other contracts, instruments” wagers on sports, elections, politics, culture or technology and science. The order does not apply to wagers on commodities, climate, economics or finance.
McHale’s order follows a lawsuit by Washington Attorney General Nick Brown, who alleged that the company operates in “direct violation” of state laws that prohibit gambling, except for sports wagers placed on tribal lands.
“Kalshi has gotten rich promoting wagers on sports, elections, natural disasters, events related to the Iran War, and more. Under this order, Kalshi is banned from offering wagers on most of those topics in Washington,” Brown said in a statement Thursday. “As this case moves forward, we will continue to enforce Washington law and hold Kalshi accountable for misleading consumers.”
Jacki McGavick, a Kalshi spokesperson, wrote in an email Thursday that the company is “regulated by the CFTC, which has exclusive jurisdiction over our exchange.
“We respectfully disagree with the court’s decision and are considering all legal options.” McGavick said.
According to McGavick, the company does not offer markets on war, terrorism or wildfires.
Founded in 2018 and launched in 2021, the site markets itself as a “regulated exchange & prediction market where you can trade on the outcome of real-world events.” While the company promotes that users can “bet on anything,” more than 90% of the activity on Kalshi and 89% of its revenue last year was from sports betting.
Last year, the company expanded its operations in Washington by allowing users to bet on how many points would be scored in a game, the point difference between teams and specific game outcomes, such as how many points a particular player would score.
The site is currently available to anyone 18 or older and can be accessed through phone apps or online. The trading volume on the site reached $23.8 billion in 2025.
https://5star.media/2026/08/14/kalshi-ordered-to-block-washington-bets/