Massachusetts Alleges Kalshi’s Event Contracts Are Illegal Sports Bets

Bay State Calls Kalshi ‘Sports Betting’; The Statute May Not Agree

Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell brought the case Friday in Suffolk Superior Court’s Business Litigation Session, asserting that Kalshi’s “event contracts” are sports wagers under Chapter 23N and therefore require a Massachusetts Gaming Commission license.

The filing leans on labels, contending that yes/no contracts paying $1 or $0 are moneylines, spreads, and totals. The state adds public-health rhetoric—problem gambling, financial harms—without showing how Kalshi’s exchange mechanics uniquely worsen those risks versus licensed books running the same playbook.

Kalshi launched sports markets on Jan. 23, 2025; Massachusetts recasts the product suite (winners, March Madness lines, parlays) as indistinguishable from sportsbook fare, then calls trade-in/trade-out “exchange wagering.” Still, that perspective isn’t exactly a slam dunk in the statute’s playbook once it hits the courtroom.

To bolster market-share claims, the state’s complaint cites a media article to say sports drove more than three-quarters of Kalshi’s volume and compares that haul to Draftkings and Fanduel. The AG further faults homepage risk disclosures for being hard to find because the page updates as you scroll.

Massachusetts wants an injunction, civil penalties, and whatever else the court deems proper. A Kalshi spokesperson told Coindesk’s Nikhilesh De that “Kalshi offers its users a fair, transparent, federally-regulated and nationwide marketplace. Rather than engage in dialogue with Kalshi as many other states have done, Massachusetts is trying to block Kalshi’s innovations by relying on outdated laws and ideas.”

The Kalshi rep added:

Prediction markets are a critical innovation of the 21st century, and all Americans should be able to access them. We are proud to be the company that has pioneered this technology and stand ready to defend it once again in a court of law.