Overview
- A federal court granted a temporary restraining order stopping Arizona from pursuing criminal charges against Kalshi at the request of the CFTC and DOJ, which pauses a planned arraignment and further state enforcement.
- The ruling updates Judge Michael Liburdi’s April 8 decision that denied Kalshi’s own bid to block the case, which he said the Anti‑Injunction Act barred when only the company sought relief.
- The CFTC and DOJ filed federal suits on April 2 against Arizona, Connecticut and Illinois, arguing that event contracts on CFTC‑registered exchanges are swaps under the Commodity Exchange Act that preempt state gambling laws.
- In a separate development on April 6, the Third Circuit ruled 2–1 that Kalshi’s sports contracts are swaps under federal law, keeping New Jersey regulators from applying state gambling rules while the case proceeds.
- The CFTC has opened a rulemaking process and launched an Innovation Task Force, and with Kalshi estimated at 89% of U.S. prediction‑market volume, the outcome could decide whether traders face one national rulebook or a state‑by‑state patchwork.