Polymarket and Kalshi lawsuit tracker

Every matter, newest first

Each entry names the app, the court or regulator and the docket where one exists. The summaries are ours; the source link is the record.

Where a filing date is not public, the entry says so rather than guessing.

The list covers Polymarket US, Kalshi and Robinhood. Other apps got the same letters: Ohio wrote to 10 firms on October 2, Missouri to six in September.

Two of Missouri's recipients, Crypto.com's exchange and Novig, sued the state on October 16. Neither app is in our list.

Do the lawsuits make an app unsafe to use? Our reviews answer is Polymarket legit and is Kalshi legit.

The one question underneath all of it

Kalshi, Polymarket US and the exchanges behind other apps are designated contract markets. The CFTC regulates them under the Commodity Exchange Act.

The exchanges argue that law gives the CFTC exclusive power over what they list. So, they say, no state can ban or license their contracts.

States answer that a contract paying out on a football game is a sports wager. Gambling, they say, has always been theirs to regulate.

Tribes add a third claim. Under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, gaming on their land needs their consent.

Where the appeals courts stand

Three federal appeals courts have ruled, and they split two to one against the exchanges.

The Third Circuit sided with Kalshi on April 6, 2026, in New Jersey's case (No. 25-1922). It held sports contracts are swaps, so federal law displaces state gambling law.

The Ninth Circuit disagreed on August 28, in Nevada's case (No. 25-7516). It held those contracts are likely not swaps, so Nevada may enforce.

On September 16, the Ninth Circuit also sided with two California tribes (No. 25-7504). A trade placed on tribal land is gaming there, it held.

The Sixth Circuit joined the Ninth on September 25, in the Ohio and Tennessee cases (No. 26-3196).

Kalshi wants both losing rulings reheard en banc. It petitioned the Ninth Circuit on September 9 and the Sixth on October 9. Neither court has ruled, so neither mandate has issued.

Appeals are pending in other circuits too. The Fourth heard Maryland's case on May 7 and has not ruled. The Second has New York's and Connecticut's. The Seventh, Eighth and Tenth have Wisconsin's, Iowa's and Utah's.

Trial courts differ too. On October 2, an Illinois federal judge found the state's licensing law likely preempted as applied to Kalshi.

What the CFTC is doing

The CFTC withdrew its 2024 plan to bar election and sports contracts on February 4, 2026.

On June 10, it proposed new rules instead. Most sports contracts would stay, but contracts on injuries, officiating calls and single in-game actions would go.

Comments closed on July 27. Just before, 44 states wrote that the CFTC has no authority over sports contracts at all.

Those rules are not final. On September 24, the CFTC told the Ninth Circuit it expects to finish them within two months.

On October 9, it proposed defining “swap” to include event contracts on sports, politics, culture and weather. Comments are due November 18.

That goes to the exact question the Sixth and Ninth Circuits decided against Kalshi. It is a proposal, not law.

The same day, it adopted an interim final rule, in effect from October 19. It says sportsbook and casino wagers are not swaps.

Kalshi cites both rules in asking the Sixth Circuit to rehear its case.

What would settle it

The Supreme Court, most likely. Three petitions are before it: New Jersey's (No. 26-299), Robinhood's (No. 26-338) and that of Crypto.com's exchange (No. 26-344).

Responses are due November 9, 13 and 16. The Court has not said whether it will hear any of them.

A ruling there would bind every state at once, in every circuit.

Congress could also amend the Commodity Exchange Act to say who regulates sports contracts. No such bill has passed.

A final CFTC rule could also matter. Its October proposal would define sports contracts as swaps, the point the circuits split on. It would not, on its own, end the fight over state law.

Check a state

Every state with a matter on file has its own page. Each one shows where the apps stand there and the actions on record.