Utah files criminal charges against Kalshi over illegal gambling
Utah filed criminal charges against Kalshi and its co-founders, accusing them of promoting illegal gambling through the prediction market platform.Summary
Utah Attorney General Derek Brown filed criminal charges against online prediction market platform Kalshi and its co-founders Tarek Mansour and Luana Lopes Lara, accusing them of promoting illegal gambling. The charges include one count of pattern of unlawful activity, one count of general gambling promotion, and 12 counts of online gambling, based on an undercover agent being allowed to place bets on sports events in September. This filing follows a state lawsuit filed a week earlier and a CFTC lawsuit filed a day earlier to stop Utah from enforcing its anti-gambling laws against Kalshi. Brown stated that gambling is illegal in Utah regardless of whether it is called a prediction market or is federally registered. Kalshi, launched in 2021, operates as a federally regulated exchange offering event contracts and has faced multiple lawsuits and controversies over the legality of its sports and election markets, and is restricted in numerous countries and states. Arizona previously filed criminal charges that were blocked by a federal judge, and Utah claims Kalshi continued allowing residents to bet despite an August federal court ruling permitting state enforcement.
(Source：FOX 9)