Vardan Khachatryan
Kalshi in Rhode Island
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 Rhode Island
- 2 on record, listed in the timeline
- Legal sports betting
- State lottery only; legal since 2018, online since 2019, 18 and over
- Federal case
- KalshiEX LLC v. Furcolo, No. 1:26-cv-00327
- Federal appeals court
- First Circuit: has not ruled on the question
- Last change
- August 28, 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 still legal in Rhode Island
Kalshi is a federally regulated exchange. The CFTC designated it a contract market in 2020.
Rhode Island says its sports contracts are sports betting anyway. Here, only the state lottery may take sports bets.
Kalshi saw the fight coming. It sued the state in federal court at 12:03 p.m. on May 21, 2026. The attorney general sued Kalshi about four hours later.
Neither side has an order yet. The state agreed on May 26 to take no further enforcement action while the federal judge decides.
So sports contracts stay live. The judge has had the key motions under advisement since August 3.
What you can trade on Kalshi from Rhode Island
Everything Kalshi lists: sports, politics, economics, crypto, culture and weather. You must be 18 or over and pass its ID checks.
Here the age gap is not an issue. Rhode Island lets 18-year-olds bet on sports too.
The state's case covers sports only. It asks the court to bar Kalshi's sports-related contracts in Rhode Island, not its other markets.
College games show the gap. Sportsbook Rhode Island cannot take bets on Rhode Island college teams, or on college games played here, outside tournaments.
Kalshi lists them. Brown plays Rhode Island on October 3, and Bryant plays Brown on October 10, both on Kalshi's board.
Politics trades too. Kalshi lists the race for governor, where Helena Foulkes beat Governor Dan McKee in the September 9 primary.
How Kalshi works for Rhode Island 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 Patriots are 60¢ to win on Sunday. You buy 100 contracts for $60. Kalshi's standard fee on that trade is $1.68.
If the Patriots 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 Rhode Island has said about Kalshi
Attorney General Peter F. Neronha has been blunt. “There is no substantive difference between sports betting and ‘events contracts’ in this context,” he said.
He wants Polymarket and Kalshi to “stand down, abide by our state laws, and disgorge their profits.”
Money is part of it. Neronha says the state's third largest revenue stream is suffering. His office says lottery sports bets fell 8% from 2024 to 2025.
Lottery Director Mark Furcolo put it simply. When someone bets on a prediction market instead, “there is an economic impact to the state.”
Kalshi says it asked for assurances the day before. It was told only that it would get no advance notice.
Kalshi's court fight with Rhode Island, explained
There are two cases, now joined. Kalshi's is KalshiEX LLC v. Furcolo, No. 1:26-cv-00327, in federal court in Providence.
It names the lottery director, Mark Furcolo, the attorney general and the state's gaming and athletics administrator.
The state's case, filed in Providence County Superior Court, targets Polymarket US and Kalshi. Polymarket moved it to federal court the next day.
It asks the court to declare the contracts “casino gaming” and “online sports wagering” under state law. It also seeks restitution and disgorgement.
Judge Mary S. McElroy combined the cases on June 22. Four days later, she let the CFTC join on Kalshi's side.
Kalshi, Polymarket and the CFTC all asked for preliminary injunctions against the state. She heard them on August 3 and took them under advisement.
Since then, the state has sent the judge newer rulings that denied prediction markets injunctions. They come from federal courts in Connecticut, Michigan and Utah, and from the Ninth Circuit.
No ruling had come as of September 28.
What could change Kalshi's status in Rhode Island
Judge McElroy's ruling comes first. If she denies the injunctions, the state could move to enforce against Kalshi's sports contracts.
The state's promise lasts until the cases are decided. It can end sooner only if the state gives notice and the court weighs in.
The First Circuit would hear any appeal. It covers Rhode Island and has never ruled on the question.
Next door, Massachusetts' highest court is weighing the same fight. Its ruling will not bind Rhode Island.
Elsewhere, the trend has run against Kalshi. The Ninth Circuit ruled against it on August 28, and the Sixth Circuit on September 25.
New Jersey has asked the Supreme Court to settle it. Our litigation tracker follows each case.
Kalshi in Rhode Island: timeline
Every change to Kalshi's position in Rhode Island, newest first. Each entry links the filing or order behind it.
How Kalshi compares to sports betting in Rhode Island
Rhode Island runs sports betting itself. It legalized betting in 2018, a month after the Supreme Court allowed it, and added online betting in 2019.
In person, you bet at Bally's Twin River Lincoln or Bally's Tiverton. Online, you use Sportsbook Rhode Island, and you must be inside the state.
The app runs on IGT's technology. By law, 51% of the revenue goes to the state, 32% to its vendor and 17% to the two casinos.
The monopoly has critics. A 2025 bill to open the market passed the state Senate 30-3 but died in the House.
Kalshi competes with that app from outside the system, with no state license. The state wants the court to make it give up its profits.
Other prediction market apps in Rhode Island
Rhode Island has no private sportsbooks, so the sportsbook brands sell sports contracts here. DraftKings, FanDuel, Fanatics and PrizePicks all list them.
Only Polymarket and Kalshi face the state's lawsuit. We found no Rhode Island action against any other app.
Here is where each app we rank stands in the state. See whether Polymarket is legal in Rhode Island and prediction markets in Rhode Island.
| App | Status in Rhode Island | More |
|---|---|---|
| Gemini Predictions | Available, sports included | Gemini Predictions review |
| Polymarket US | Contested for sports contracts, with no restriction in force | Is Polymarket legal in Rhode Island? |
| OG | Available, sports included | OG review |
| Interactive Brokers | Available; it lists no sports contracts anywhere | Interactive Brokers review |
| Robinhood | Available, sports included | Robinhood review |
| ProphetX | Available, sports included | ProphetX review |
| Coinbase | Available, sports included | Coinbase review |
| Webull | Available, sports included | Webull review |
| Novig | Available, sports included | Novig review |
| DraftKings Predictions | Available, sports included | DraftKings Predictions review |
| Fanatics Markets | Available, sports included | Fanatics Markets review |
| FanDuel Predicts | Available, sports included | FanDuel Predicts review |
| PrizePicks | Available, sports included | PrizePicks review |
| Underdog Predict | Available, sports included | Underdog Predict review |
How to use Kalshi in Rhode Island
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 go back to your bank or card. There is nothing extra to do in Rhode Island.
Before you fund it, read our Kalshi review for its fees, payouts and the lawsuits against it. New to all this? Start with what prediction markets are.