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Appeals Court Says CFTC Has Exclusive Control Over Kalshi’s Sports Markets in New Jersey

The decision strengthens federal preemption for event contracts that exchanges list as swaps under the Commodity Exchange Act.

Overview

  • Kalshi, which won a 2-1 Third Circuit ruling on Monday, kept a court order that blocks New Jersey from enforcing its gambling rules because the platform’s sports contracts are treated as federally regulated swaps.
  • The majority said contracts traded on a CFTC‑licensed designated contract market fall under federal law, while Judge Jane R. Roth dissented that Kalshi’s products are sports bets that states can regulate.
  • New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport said the state disagrees with the ruling and is weighing next steps, including a possible request for a rehearing by the full appellate court.
  • Courts elsewhere have split, with Nevada securing a state ban that was extended to at least April 17 and the Ninth Circuit declining to shield Kalshi from that enforcement.
  • The CFTC and the Justice Department recently sued Arizona, Connecticut, and Illinois to block state crackdowns, and Congress is considering bills that could limit which event contracts federally regulated exchanges can list.