CFTC and US sue Arkansas over state action against Kalshi
The CFTC and the United States filed suit in federal court on 12 November to stop Arkansas from applying state gambling and consumer-protection claims to Kalshi-linked event contracts.
Conceptual illustration of a federal-versus-state legal clash over Kalshi-linked event contracts. AI-generated conceptual illustration. Does not depict the actual people or event. Credit: iGaming News Desk
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the United States filed suit on 12 November in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas against the State of Arkansas and Attorney General Tim Griffin, seeking declaratory and injunctive relief over the state’s move against Kalshi.
In the complaint, the federal plaintiffs say the case is meant to stop Arkansas from prohibiting derivatives markets governed by federal law. They argue that the Commodity Exchange Act gives the CFTC exclusive jurisdiction over commodity futures, options and swaps traded on federally regulated exchanges.
The filing says the dispute was triggered by Arkansas’s 4 November state-court enforcement action against Kalshi in Independence County. According to the federal complaint, Arkansas is targeting event contracts that the CFTC treats as swaps traded on CFTC-regulated designated contract markets.
Sources
Follow the stories shaping iGaming
Read the latest industry news and analysis, or follow our RSS feed in your preferred reader.