State judge orders Kalshi to stop offering sports bets and other wagers
State judge orders Kalshi to stop offering sports bets and other wagers
州法官下令 Kalshi 停止提供体育博彩及其他投注服务
A state court in Washington this week ordered Kalshi to stop offering sports gambling and a variety of other wagers on its prediction market. King County Superior Court Judge John McHale issued a preliminary injunction in response to a lawsuit filed against Kalshi by the state of Washington. 本周，华盛顿州一家法院下令 Kalshi 停止在其预测市场上提供体育博彩及其他各类投注服务。金县高等法院法官约翰·麦克黑尔（John McHale）针对华盛顿州对 Kalshi 提起的诉讼，发布了一项初步禁令。
“The order requires Kalshi to stop offering, accepting, or facilitating wagers on sports, elections, politics, entertainment, culture, tech and science, or mentions in Washington,” said a press release yesterday from Washington Attorney General Nick Brown. “Kalshi must implement an IP address and residency-based geofence by August 19 and a multi-source geofencing solution by September 2. This does not include all the wagers offered on Kalshi, but it includes a substantial part of their business, which in recent years has been increasingly driven by sports wagers.” “该命令要求 Kalshi 在华盛顿州停止提供、接受或促成有关体育、选举、政治、娱乐、文化、科技与科学，以及‘提及（mentions）’类事件的投注，”华盛顿州总检察长尼克·布朗（Nick Brown）在昨日发布的新闻稿中表示。“Kalshi 必须在 8 月 19 日前实施基于 IP 地址和居住地的地理围栏，并在 9 月 2 日前实施多源地理围栏解决方案。这并不涵盖 Kalshi 提供的所有投注项目，但包含了其业务的很大一部分，而这些业务近年来日益受到体育博彩的驱动。”
Kalshi is not licensed by the state Gambling Commission and is not registered to conduct business in Washington, the court order said. McHale found that Kalshi ads claiming “that it offers ‘legal betting’ in Washington state are likely to mislead a reasonable consumer that such gambling activities are legal under state law.” 法院命令指出，Kalshi 未获得州博彩委员会的许可，也未在华盛顿州注册开展业务。麦克黑尔法官认定，Kalshi 声称其在华盛顿州提供“合法博彩”的广告，“极易误导理性消费者，使其认为此类博彩活动在州法律下是合法的。”
Under the court order, Kalshi could face penalties of up to $120,000 per day if it fails to complete the implementation of the ordered geofencing by September 2. “Kalshi will not prohibit users from exiting positions they already hold. The State reserves, and does not waive, the right to seek recovery for fees and losses incurred by Washington consumers on or after September 2, 2026,” the order said. 根据法院命令，如果 Kalshi 未能在 9 月 2 日前完成所要求的地理围栏实施工作，可能面临每天最高 12 万美元的罚款。命令还称：“Kalshi 不得禁止用户平掉其已持有的仓位。州政府保留（且不放弃）追回华盛顿州消费者在 2026 年 9 月 2 日或之后所产生费用及损失的权利。”
Kalshi claims it doesn’t have to follow state laws
Kalshi 声称其无需遵守州法律
To get a preliminary injunction, a plaintiff must show they are likely to succeed on the merits of their claims. McHale found that Washington is likely to succeed in proving its claims that Kalshi violated state laws on gambling and consumer protection. 要获得初步禁令，原告必须证明其诉讼请求在实质上很可能会胜诉。麦克黑尔法官认定，华盛顿州很可能成功证明 Kalshi 违反了州博彩和消费者保护法。
“Kalshi operates an online betting platform that it advertises as a ‘prediction market’ and that allows consumers to bet on thousands of topics ranging from sports, political elections, entertainment, popular culture, and whether public figures will utter specific words or phrases (‘mentions’),” McHale wrote. The judge found that “Kalshi’s provision, marketing, and advertising of illegal gambling activities constitute unfair and/or deceptive acts or practices in trade or commerce” under Washington law. “Kalshi 运营着一个在线投注平台，并将其宣传为‘预测市场’，允许消费者对数千个主题进行投注，范围涵盖体育、政治选举、娱乐、流行文化，以及公众人物是否会说出特定的词汇或短语（即‘提及’），”麦克黑尔写道。法官认定，根据华盛顿州法律，“Kalshi 提供、营销和广告宣传非法博彩活动的行为，构成了贸易或商业中的不公平和/或欺骗性行为或做法。”
Brown hailed the court ruling, saying that “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.” 布朗对法院的裁决表示欢迎，称“Kalshi 通过推广体育、选举、自然灾害、与伊朗战争相关事件等投注项目发了财。根据这项命令，Kalshi 在华盛顿州被禁止提供上述大多数主题的投注。”
Kalshi argues that it doesn’t have to follow state laws because the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has exclusive jurisdiction over prediction markets. The Trump administration has repeatedly made the same argument and sued states that try to regulate the platforms. The battle involving states, the US government, and Kalshi is being litigated in state and federal courts throughout the country. Kalshi 辩称其无需遵守州法律，因为美国商品期货交易委员会（CFTC）对预测市场拥有专属管辖权。特朗普政府曾多次提出同样的论点，并起诉试图监管这些平台的州政府。这场涉及各州、美国政府和 Kalshi 的博弈，目前正在全国各地的州法院和联邦法院进行诉讼。
“Kalshi is regulated by the CFTC, which has exclusive jurisdiction over our exchange,” a Kalshi spokesperson said in a statement provided to Ars today. “We respectfully disagree with the court’s decision and are considering all legal options.” The spokesperson added that Kalshi has never offered markets on wildfires “because they create perverse incentives” and has never offered markets on war, death, or terrorism. “Kalshi 受 CFTC 监管，该机构对我们的交易所拥有专属管辖权，”Kalshi 发言人在今天提供给 Ars 的声明中表示。“我们尊重但不同意法院的裁决，目前正在考虑所有法律选项。”该发言人补充说，Kalshi 从未提供过关于野火的市场，“因为这会产生反向激励”，也从未提供过关于战争、死亡或恐怖主义的市场。
Kalshi could get help from Trump admin
Kalshi 可能获得特朗普政府的帮助
One of Kalshi’s legal options is asking the Trump administration for help. The CFTC this week declared a “market emergency” in New York in an attempt to stop the state from enforcing its gambling laws against Kalshi. The CFTC took the action after a request from Kalshi and ordered the company to continue operating in the state. Kalshi 的法律选项之一是寻求特朗普政府的帮助。本周，CFTC 在纽约宣布进入“市场紧急状态”，试图阻止该州对 Kalshi 执行其博彩法。CFTC 是在收到 Kalshi 的请求后采取这一行动的，并命令该公司继续在该州运营。
“Congress did not intend for derivatives exchanges to be regulated under a patchwork of state gaming laws,” CFTC Chairman Michael Selig said. Various courts are grappling with just what Congress intended. McHale concluded that the US Commodity Exchange Act does not preempt Washington state gambling law. The US law gives the CFTC exclusive jurisdiction over certain transactions on designated contract markets (DCMs), but it “does not contain express preemption language,” McHale wrote. “国会无意让衍生品交易所受到各州零散博彩法的监管，”CFTC 主席迈克尔·塞利格（Michael Selig）表示。各级法院目前正在努力解读国会的真实意图。麦克黑尔法官得出结论，美国《商品交易法》并未优先于华盛顿州博彩法。麦克黑尔写道，美国法律虽然赋予了 CFTC 对指定合约市场（DCMs）上某些交易的专属管辖权，但该法案“并不包含明确的优先适用条款（preemption language）”。
The judge pointed to a portion of the US law that says the following: Except as hereinabove provided, nothing contained in this section shall (I) supersede or limit the jurisdiction at any time conferred on the Securities and Exchange Commission or other regulatory authorities under the laws of the United States or of any State, or (II) restrict the Securities and Exchange Commission and such other authorities from carrying out their duties and responsibilities in accordance with such laws. Nothing in this section shall supersede or limit the jurisdiction conferred on courts of the United States or any State. 法官指出了美国法律中的一段内容，该内容规定：除上述规定外，本节所含内容不得 (I) 取代或限制美国法律或任何州法律授予证券交易委员会或其他监管机构的任何管辖权，或 (II) 限制证券交易委员会及此类其他机构根据此类法律履行其职责和责任。本节内容不得取代或限制授予美国或任何州法院的管辖权。
“The language referenced above indicates that Congress did not intend to supersede or limit States in regulating gambling or in superseding or limiting the jurisdiction of any court of any State in addressing such regulation,” McHale wrote. “上述引用的措辞表明，国会无意取代或限制各州对博彩业的监管，也无意取代或限制任何州法院在处理此类监管时的管辖权，”麦克黑尔写道。