Vardan Khachatryan
Kalshi in Washington
Not available for sports, election, politics, entertainment, culture, tech, science and mention contracts.
- Sports contracts
- Not available
- Other contracts
- Partly: election, politics, entertainment, culture, tech, science and mention contracts are closed
- Regulator
- CFTC: a designated contract market (DCM) and derivatives clearing organization
- Rulings and actions in Washington
- 3 on record, listed in the timeline
- Legal sports betting
- In person at tribal casinos, since 2021
- Order's penalty for missing the geofence
- $120,000 a day
- Federal appeals court
- Ninth Circuit: ruled against Kalshi on August 28, 2026
- Last change
- September 23, 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 mostly blocked in Washington
Washington has some of the strictest gambling laws in the country. It made internet gambling explicitly illegal in 2006.
Its definition of gambling is broad. It covers risking something of value “upon the outcome of a contest of chance or a future contingent event.”
Attorney General Nick Brown says every Kalshi trade fits that. In July, a King County judge agreed that Washington will likely win.
His order reaches far past sports. It is broader than the orders against Kalshi in Michigan and Nevada.
What you can trade on Kalshi from Washington
Four categories stay open: commodities, climate, economics and finance. You must be 18 or over and pass Kalshi's ID checks.
Everything else is closed. That means sports, elections, politics, entertainment, culture, tech and science, and mention markets on what public figures will say.
So no Seahawks, Mariners, Kraken or Huskies contracts. No contracts on Washington's November ballot races either.
Contracts you already held in those categories can still be closed out. You just cannot open new ones.
The order turns on location. Kalshi had to block by IP address and residency from August 19, then run a GeoComply check from September 2.
How Kalshi works for Washington 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 Seahawks are 60¢ to win on Sunday. 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.
In Washington, that trade is now off limits. The same math applies to what stays open, like a monthly jobs report.
The fee is highest near 50¢ and shrinks toward either end. Our Kalshi fees guide has the full schedule.
What Washington has said about Kalshi
Washington said it early. In December 2025, the state Gambling Commission warned that event contracts are not authorized in the state.
Kalshi “willfully ignored” that notice, Judge John McHale later wrote.
Attorney General Brown sued in March. Kalshi treats “every event, every tragedy” as a way for Americans “to risk their fortunes,” he said.
His office also pointed to a Kalshi ad. In it, a texter “found a way to bet on the NFL even though we live in Washington.”
Kalshi disagrees. “We respectfully disagree with the court's decision and are considering all legal options,” a spokesperson said in August.
Washington's lawsuit against Kalshi, explained
Brown sued Kalshi in King County Superior Court on March 27, 2026. He relies on the Gambling Act and the Consumer Protection Act.
The second law carries teeth. The state can seek up to $7,500 per violation, and it wants Washingtonians' losses paid back.
Kalshi moved the case to federal court the same day. On May 5, Judge John C. Coughenour sent it back.
The Ninth Circuit refused to pause that remand on May 21. Litigating in state court, it said, “is not necessarily a harm, let alone irreparable.”
On July 20, Judge McHale granted the state a preliminary injunction. Washington was likely to win, he found, and “substantial injury to Washington consumers” was likely.
His final order came on August 12. It bars Kalshi from offering or advertising the covered contracts to people in Washington.
Kalshi lost two bids to pause it, before a Court of Appeals commissioner and before McHale himself.
On August 20, it asked McHale to reconsider. Washington had agreed to hold off on OG, a rival exchange, and Kalshi called itself “identically situated.”
We found no public ruling on that request. The order remains in force.
What could change Kalshi's status in Washington
Four things could. The first is the state appeal. Kalshi can still press its case in the Washington Court of Appeals.
The second is fairness. Kalshi argues Washington treats it worse than rivals such as OG and Polymarket, and wants the same pause.
The state's answer is blunt. It need not sue everyone at once, a spokesperson said: “Kalshi is the largest entity of its kind.”
The third is the federal courts. The Ninth Circuit, which covers Washington, ruled against Kalshi in Nevada on August 28. Kalshi wants a rehearing.
The fourth is the Supreme Court, which New Jersey has asked to settle the split. Our litigation tracker follows each case.
Kalshi in Washington: timeline
Every change to Kalshi's position in Washington, newest first. Each entry links the ruling, filing or report behind it.
How Kalshi compares to sports betting in Washington
Washington legalized sports betting in March 2020, but only inside tribal casinos. Betting began in September 2021.
Mobile betting exists, but only on casino grounds. A geofence keeps each app inside the property.
Kalshi offered the opposite: sports trading from any couch in the state. That is the heart of Washington's case.
The tribal books are changing too. A 2026 law allows bets on in-state college teams, with limits, once compacts are amended.
The Gambling Commission votes on the Spokane and Chehalis amendments on October 15, 2026. The Spokane Tribe has cited its Gonzaga and Washington State fans.
Other prediction market apps in Washington
Washington has sued only Kalshi. It agreed in court not to act against Robinhood or OG while the Ninth Circuit's Nevada cases run their course.
Apps that route to Kalshi are caught by its order. Coinbase and Webull fall in that group. PrizePicks offers no event contracts in Washington.
Polymarket US still operates here, unsued. Here is where each app we rank stands. For the full picture, see prediction markets in Washington.
| App | Status in Washington | More |
|---|---|---|
| Gemini Predictions | Available, sports included | Gemini Predictions review |
| Polymarket US | Available, sports included | Polymarket review |
| OG | Available, sports included | OG review |
| Interactive Brokers | Available; it lists no sports contracts anywhere | Interactive Brokers review |
| Robinhood | Contested for all event contracts, with no restriction in force | Robinhood review |
| ProphetX | Available, sports included | ProphetX review |
| Coinbase | Available, but not for sports contracts | 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 | Not available | PrizePicks review |
| Underdog Predict | Available, sports included | Underdog Predict review |
How to use Kalshi in Washington
Sign up with your email, confirm your identity with a driver's license or passport, and fund the account.
Update the app and allow location checks. Kalshi's GeoComply check decides which markets you see.
Withdrawals go back to your bank or card as usual. Open positions in closed categories can still be sold.
Before you fund it, read our Kalshi review for its fees, payouts and lawsuits. New to all this? Start with what prediction markets are.