Vardan Khachatryan
Kalshi in Nevada
Not available for sports, election and entertainment contracts.
- Sports contracts
- Not available
- Other contracts
- Partly: election and entertainment contracts are closed
- Regulator
- CFTC: a designated contract market (DCM) and derivatives clearing organization
- Rulings and actions in Nevada
- 4 on record, listed in the timeline
- Legal sports betting
- Licensed sportsbooks since 1949
- Kalshi geofence deadline
- August 12, 2026, or $120,000 a day
- Federal appeals court
- Ninth Circuit: ruled against Kalshi on August 28, 2026
- Last change
- September 9, 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 only partly legal in Nevada
Nevada calls a sports contract a bet. Kalshi calls it a federally regulated derivative. So far, Nevada is winning.
The Gaming Control Board's logic is simple. A wager in Nevada needs a gaming license, and Kalshi has none.
Two courts have agreed. A Carson City judge barred Kalshi's sports, election and entertainment contracts in 2026. The Ninth Circuit then refused to shield Kalshi under federal law.
So the answer depends on the market. A Golden Knights game is off limits. A Fed rate decision is not.
What you can trade on Kalshi from Nevada
Economics, financial, crypto and weather markets. You must be 18 or over and pass Kalshi's ID checks.
Sports, elections and entertainment are closed. That covers game lines, season futures, award shows and every race on the November ballot.
Where you stand decides, not your address. The order reaches anyone inside Nevada, so a Las Vegas visitor from California is blocked too.
Kalshi checks location through GeoComply, a Nevada-licensed provider. You may still see Kalshi's logo on Golden Knights broadcasts, though: the NHL's partner deal puts it on TV only.
How Kalshi works for Nevada 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 Golden Knights are 60¢ to win tonight. You buy 100 contracts for $60. Kalshi's standard fee on that trade is $1.68.
If they win, you collect $100, a $38.32 profit. If they lose, you are out $61.68.
That is exactly the trade Nevada's order blocks. The math is identical on markets you can still trade, like a monthly inflation reading.
The fee is highest near 50¢ and shrinks toward either end. Our Kalshi fees guide has the full schedule.
What Nevada has said about Kalshi
Nevada has said plenty, and it started early. The Gaming Control Board sent Kalshi a cease-and-desist letter on March 4, 2025.
The letter called sports and election contracts unlawful unless licensed. Even licensed Nevada sportsbooks may not take bets on elections, the board added.
Its chairman, Mike Dreitzer, has not softened. Kalshi's claim to be legal in all 50 states is “clearly not true,” he said in March 2026.
Governor Joe Lombardo backed him after the Ninth Circuit ruling. Prediction markets offering sports contracts “constitute gambling,” he said.
Kalshi disagrees but complies. It told Nevadans in March: “We disagree with those restrictions, but as a law-abiding company, we're following them.”
Nevada's cases against Kalshi, explained
There are two cases. Kalshi started the first. Nevada started the second, and that one is why sports are closed here.
Kalshi sued Nevada's regulators in federal court in March 2025. Judge Andrew P. Gordon shielded it with an injunction on April 9.
He reversed himself on November 24, 2025, finding sports contracts are not swaps under federal law.
On August 28, 2026, the Ninth Circuit agreed, 3-0, in KalshiEX, LLC v. Assad, No. 25-7516. It sent Kalshi's election contracts back for the judge to decide.
“Placing sports bets, even when called by another name, is still gambling,” Judge Ryan D. Nelson wrote.
Kalshi had argued it could not block one state. Regulated operators in Nevada geofence, the panel noted: “Kalshi could do the same; it just refuses to do so.”
The state case began on February 17, 2026, in Carson City. Judge Jason Woodbury issued a restraining order on March 20 and an injunction on April 3.
His May 18 order made the block cover anyone physically in Nevada. Board investigators kept placing trades anyway.
So on July 23, Kalshi agreed to a third-party geofence by August 12, or $120,000 a day. On August 14, the board said Kalshi had missed it.
Kalshi's general counsel called that filing “a vindictive waste of taxpayer dollars.” We found no ruling on it yet.
What could change Kalshi's status in Nevada
Four things could. The first is the Ninth Circuit itself. On September 9, Kalshi asked for a rehearing before an 11-judge panel.
The second is the Supreme Court. Robinhood and Crypto.com, which lost the same day, have petitioned it. So has New Jersey, after the circuits split.
A ruling for Kalshi could reopen sports here. A ruling for the states would confirm Nevada's power.
The third is the Carson City case. The injunction stays in place while it continues, and the fine request is pending.
The fourth is Congress. Nevada Reps. Steven Horsford and Mark Amodei introduced the Prediction Markets Are Gambling Act in July. Our litigation tracker follows each case.
Kalshi in Nevada: timeline
Every change to Kalshi's position in Nevada, newest first. Each entry links the ruling, filing or report behind it.
How Kalshi compares to sports betting in Nevada
Nevada has licensed sports betting since 1949. Its 186 sportsbooks took $133.8 million on the February 2026 Super Bowl.
That was the smallest Super Bowl handle in the ten years the board listed. Kalshi was still open to Nevadans at the time.
The rules differ sharply. A Nevada sportsbook needs a license, pays state gaming taxes and takes bettors from 21. Kalshi takes traders from 18.
Dreitzer has said he is “deeply concerned” about 18- to 20-year-olds betting on sports.
The big sportsbook brands chose sides. In November 2025, FanDuel surrendered its Nevada licenses and DraftKings withdrew its pending applications. The board said both planned “unlawful activities related to sports event contracts.”
Other prediction market apps in Nevada
The board says it has restricted every unlicensed prediction market it knew to be operating in Nevada.
Several apps skip the state entirely. Polymarket US, Coinbase, Novig, Underdog, ProphetX, Fanatics Markets and PrizePicks offer no prediction markets here.
DraftKings Predictions and FanDuel Predicts offer financial markets only. Gemini Predictions and Interactive Brokers publish no Nevada restriction, and we found no Nevada action against either.
The table shows where each app we rank stands on sports. For the full picture, see prediction markets in Nevada.
| App | Status in Nevada | More |
|---|---|---|
| Gemini Predictions | Available, sports included | Gemini Predictions review |
| Polymarket US | Not available | Is Polymarket legal in Nevada? |
| 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 | Is Robinhood legal in Nevada? |
| ProphetX | Not available | ProphetX review |
| Coinbase | Not available | Coinbase review |
| Webull | Available, but not for sports contracts | Webull review |
| Novig | Not available | 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 | Not available | PrizePicks review |
| Underdog Predict | Not available | Underdog Predict review |
How to use Kalshi in Nevada
Sign up with your email, confirm your identity with a driver's license or passport, and fund the account.
Keep the app updated, because Kalshi's location check works only on its latest version.
Do not try to beat the geofence. Kalshi's own lawyers said investigators broke federal law by misstating where they lived.
Withdrawals go back to your bank or card as usual. Before you fund the account, read our Kalshi review for fees, payouts and lawsuits.