Vardan Khachatryan
Kalshi in Maryland
Contested for sports contracts, with no restriction in force.
- Sports contracts
- Available, but contested
- Other contracts
- Available
- Regulator
- CFTC: a designated contract market (DCM) and derivatives clearing organization
- Rulings and actions in Maryland
- 2 on record, listed in the timeline
- Legal sports betting
- Mobile since November 23, 2022, through licensed apps
- Fourth Circuit appeal
- Argued May 7, 2026; no ruling yet
- Federal appeals court
- Fourth Circuit: has not ruled on the question
- Last change
- August 13, 2026
Each entry on this page links the ruling or report it rests on. Nothing here is legal advice.
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Why Kalshi is legal in Maryland
Kalshi is a federally regulated exchange. The CFTC designated it a contract market in 2020, the same status futures exchanges hold.
Maryland says that does not cover sports. In April 2025, its gaming regulator ordered Kalshi to stop offering sports contracts.
A federal judge then sided with the state. But Maryland agreed in writing not to enforce its law against Kalshi until the Fourth Circuit rules.
So nothing is in force today. Kalshi still lists every category in Maryland, sports included.
That truce has an end date, though nobody knows it yet. It ends when the appeals court decides.
What you can trade on Kalshi from Maryland
Everything Kalshi lists: sports, politics, economics, crypto, culture and weather. You must be 18 or over and pass its ID checks.
Sports is the big one. The Ravens, Orioles, Terrapins and Navy all trade, and the Commanders still play in Landover.
Maryland's order covers sports only. Politics, economics and weather contracts are not part of the fight with the gaming regulator.
Politics draws scrutiny of its own, though. Governor Wes Moore faces Republican Dan Cox on November 3, 2026, and Kalshi lists the race.
In July 2026, Maryland's top election official asked the State Prosecutor to investigate prediction markets, Maryland Matters reported.
How Kalshi works for Maryland traders
Every Kalshi contract is a yes-or-no question. It pays $1 if the answer is yes and nothing if it is no.
The price is the market's odds. A contract at 60¢ means traders put the chance at about 60%.
Say the Ravens are 60¢ to win Sunday. You buy 100 contracts for $60. Kalshi's standard fee on that trade is $1.68.
If the Ravens win, you collect $100, a $38.32 profit. If they lose, you are out $61.68.
You trade against other people, not the house. Kalshi earns its fee either way, so it has no stake in who wins.
The fee is highest near 50¢ and shrinks toward either end. Our Kalshi fees guide has the full schedule.
What Maryland has said about Kalshi
Maryland's position is on paper. On April 7, 2025, the Lottery and Gaming Control Commission sent Kalshi a cease-and-desist letter.
Signed by John A. Martin, it told Kalshi to “immediately cease and desist offering in Maryland” its sports contracts. It gave Kalshi 15 days to confirm.
Robinhood and Crypto.com's exchange got letters the same day. Robinhood's letter said the Kalshi order applied to it too, since it sells Kalshi's contracts.
Then the state held its fire. On August 12, 2025, its lawyers promised in writing to forgo enforcement against Kalshi until the appeal ends.
Baltimore has not waited. Mayor Brandon M. Scott sued Kalshi in August 2026, and his words were blunt.
“These companies are running sportsbooks without licenses and betting that a new label will put them above the law.”
KalshiEX v. Martin, Maryland's case against Kalshi, explained
Kalshi sued Maryland's gaming officials on April 21, 2025, in KalshiEX LLC v. Martin, No. 1:25-cv-01283, in federal court in Baltimore.
It lost the first round. On August 1, 2025, Judge Adam B. Abelson refused to block Maryland's enforcement.
He found Kalshi unlikely to prove that federal law pushes aside Maryland's gambling laws for its sports contracts.
He also offered Kalshi a way out. If Kalshi got a Maryland license, he wrote, “those laws would not pose an obstacle.”
Kalshi appealed the same day, in No. 25-1892. It dropped its request for a pause after Maryland promised not to enforce.
The Fourth Circuit heard the appeal on May 7, 2026. The panel was Judges Roger L. Gregory, Stephanie D. Thacker and DeAndrea Gist Benjamin.
Judge Gregory compared the contracts to gambling at the argument, the Baltimore Sun reported. The court has not ruled.
Both sides keep writing to it. Maryland filed new authorities on September 21, and Kalshi flagged a coming CFTC rule on September 25.
What could change Kalshi's status in Maryland
The Fourth Circuit's ruling is the big one. If it sides with Maryland, the state's promise not to enforce ends with the appeal.
Maryland could then press its cease-and-desist order against Kalshi's sports contracts. If Kalshi wins, it can seek the injunction it was denied.
The trend is not in Kalshi's favor. The Ninth and Sixth Circuits ruled against it in August and September; only the Third sided with it.
Baltimore's lawsuit is a second front. It asks a court to bar Kalshi from trading with city residents. It also seeks up to $1,000 per violation, per day.
Then there is the Supreme Court. New Jersey has asked it to settle the question, and a ruling there would bind Maryland too. Our litigation tracker follows each case.
Kalshi in Maryland: timeline
Every change to Kalshi's position in Maryland, newest first. Each entry links the ruling or filing behind it.
How Kalshi compares to sports betting in Maryland
Maryland voters approved sports betting on November 3, 2020, with 67.1% voting yes on Question 2.
Retail sportsbooks opened in December 2021, and mobile apps launched on November 23, 2022. Twelve online sportsbooks held licenses as of January 2026.
They pay 20% of mobile revenue in tax, up from 15% since June 1, 2025. Bettors must be 21.
Kalshi does none of that under a state license. It answers to the CFTC, pays no Maryland gaming tax and takes traders from 18.
For you, the practical difference is the other side of the trade. A sportsbook sets the odds and takes your bet. On Kalshi you trade with other people.
Other prediction market apps in Maryland
Maryland is one of the tougher states for sports contracts. Several apps have already closed them here.
Robinhood's help pages say Maryland residents can't trade sports event contracts. Webull and OG say the same of their own apps.
DraftKings and FanDuel run licensed sportsbooks here, so their prediction apps skip sports. Polymarket US faces its own Baltimore lawsuit; see whether Polymarket is legal in Maryland.
Here is where each app we rank stands in the state. For the full picture, see prediction markets in Maryland.
| App | Status in Maryland | More |
|---|---|---|
| Gemini Predictions | Available, sports included | Gemini Predictions review |
| Polymarket US | Contested for sports contracts, with no restriction in force | Is Polymarket legal in Maryland? |
| OG | Available, but not for sports contracts | OG review |
| Interactive Brokers | Available; it lists no sports contracts anywhere | Interactive Brokers review |
| Robinhood | Not available for sports contracts | Robinhood review |
| ProphetX | Available, sports included | ProphetX review |
| Coinbase | Available, sports included | Coinbase review |
| Webull | Available, but not for sports contracts | Webull review |
| Novig | Available, sports included | Novig review |
| DraftKings Predictions | Available, but not for sports contracts | DraftKings Predictions review |
| Fanatics Markets | Not available | Fanatics Markets review |
| FanDuel Predicts | Available, but not for sports contracts | FanDuel Predicts review |
| PrizePicks | Available, but not for sports contracts | PrizePicks review |
| Underdog Predict | Available, sports included | Underdog Predict review |
How to use Kalshi in Maryland
Sign up with your email, confirm your identity with a driver's license or passport, and fund the account.
Kalshi takes bank transfers, debit cards, Apple Pay, PayPal, Venmo, wires and crypto, among others. Withdrawals carry no Kalshi fee.
Know the risk before you fund. If the Fourth Circuit rules for Maryland, Kalshi's sports contracts here could close soon after.
Read our Kalshi review for its fees, payouts and the lawsuits against it. New to all this? Start with what prediction markets are.