Vardan Khachatryan
Kalshi in Tennessee
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 Tennessee
- 2 on record, listed in the timeline
- State order to stop
- Sports Wagering Council, January 9, 2026
- Kalshi's injunction
- Vacated September 25, 2026; takes effect when the court issues its mandate
- Federal appeals court
- Sixth Circuit: ruled against Kalshi on September 25, 2026
- Last change
- September 25, 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 Tennessee, for now
Kalshi is a federally regulated exchange. The CFTC designated it a contract market in 2020, the status futures exchanges hold.
That covers its markets on elections, the economy and the weather. Tennessee's fight is only about sports.
In January, the state ordered Kalshi to stop its sports contracts. Kalshi won a federal injunction in February, and kept trading.
That injunction is now on borrowed time. On September 25, the Sixth Circuit vacated it. Here is what that means, and when it takes effect.
What you can trade on Kalshi from Tennessee
Everything Kalshi lists, for now: sports, politics, economics, crypto, culture and weather. You must be 18 or over and pass its ID checks.
Sports are the draw. Titans, Predators, Grizzlies, Vols and Commodores markets all trade.
Politics is on the menu too. Tennessee elects a governor on November 3, 2026, with Marsha Blackburn against Jerri Green. See the live Tennessee governor odds.
Sports are the part at risk. When the Sixth Circuit's ruling takes effect, nothing will stop Tennessee enforcing its order against them.
As of September 28, we found no report that Kalshi had switched off sports in Tennessee.
How Kalshi works for Tennessee 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 Titans are 60¢ to win on Sunday. You buy 100 contracts for $60. Kalshi's standard fee on that trade is $1.68.
If the Titans win, you collect $100, a $38.32 profit. If they lose, you are out $61.68.
You trade against other people, not the house. The fee is highest near 50¢ and shrinks toward either end. Our Kalshi fees guide has the schedule.
What Tennessee has said about Kalshi
Tennessee warned early. In April 2025, its Sports Wagering Council wrote to the CFTC, listing 13 ways sports contracts would break state law.
On January 9, 2026, it ordered Kalshi, Polymarket and Crypto.com's exchange to stop sports contracts for Tennessee customers.
The letters also demanded that open contracts be voided and deposits refunded by January 31. Penalties run up to $25,000 per violation.
Executive Director Mary Beth Thomas called the contracts “an immediate and significant threat to the public interest of Tennessee.”
After the appeals ruling, Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti was blunt. “Kalshi attempted an end run around Tennessee law,” he said. “They failed.”
Kalshi's lawsuit against Tennessee, explained
The case is KalshiEX LLC v. Orgel, No. 3:26-cv-00034, in federal court in Nashville. William Orgel chairs the Sports Wagering Council.
Kalshi sued soon after the council's letter, and won a temporary restraining order the same day.
On February 19, 2026, Judge Aleta A. Trauger granted a preliminary injunction. She found Kalshi's sports contracts are swaps, so federal law overrides Tennessee's.
She also found the council itself immune from suit. The injunction runs against its chairman, its executive director and the attorney general.
Tennessee appealed, No. 26-5235. The Sixth Circuit heard it alongside Kalshi's Ohio appeal on July 30.
On September 25, all three judges ruled for the states. Kalshi's sports contracts are not swaps, they held, and Tennessee's law is not preempted.
The court vacated the injunction and sent the case back to Judge Trauger. Kalshi says it disagrees with the ruling.
What could change Kalshi's status in Tennessee
Timing comes first. An appeals ruling takes effect when the court issues its mandate.
Under the federal rules, that is normally 21 days after judgment, around October 16. A petition for rehearing would push it back.
Once the mandate issues, the January order can be enforced. Kalshi would face a choice: block Tennessee users, or risk penalties and criminal referrals.
Kalshi could ask the full Sixth Circuit to rehear the case, as it has in the Ninth. Or it could take the fight to the Supreme Court.
New Jersey has already asked the Supreme Court to settle the question for every state. Our litigation tracker follows each case.
Kalshi in Tennessee: timeline
Every change to Kalshi's position in Tennessee, newest first. Each entry links the ruling or report behind it.
How Kalshi compares to sports betting in Tennessee
Sports betting is legal in Tennessee, but only online. Its 2019 law made it the first state with no retail sportsbooks at all.
Betting began in November 2020. By the end of 2025, 10 online sportsbooks were live, and there are no commercial casinos.
Tennessee taxes sportsbooks in a way no other state does: 1.85% of every dollar wagered. Bettors wagered $5.87 billion in 2025.
Sportsbooks must also turn away anyone under 21 or outside the state. Kalshi takes traders from 18 and pays no Tennessee tax.
That gap is Tennessee's complaint. A sportsbook sets the odds, while Kalshi matches you with another trader.
Other prediction market apps in Tennessee
Kalshi is not the only app the council ordered to stop. Polymarket got the same letter, but it never sued, so no court shields it. See whether Polymarket is legal in Tennessee.
Brokers such as Robinhood, Coinbase and Webull sell Kalshi's contracts, so Kalshi's position here carries over to them.
DraftKings and FanDuel run licensed sportsbooks in Tennessee, so their prediction apps skip sports. For the full picture, see prediction markets in Tennessee.
| App | Status in Tennessee | More |
|---|---|---|
| Gemini Predictions | Available, sports included | Gemini Predictions review |
| Polymarket US | Not available for sports contracts | Is Polymarket legal in Tennessee? |
| 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, 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, sports included | PrizePicks review |
| Underdog Predict | Available, sports included | Underdog Predict review |
How to use Kalshi in Tennessee
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.
Think twice before a long-dated sports position. Tennessee's January letter demanded that open contracts be voided, and that demand could return.
Before you fund it, read our Kalshi review for its fees, payouts and lawsuits. New to all this? Start with what prediction markets are.