Kalshi Pre-Emptively Sues Louisiana, Citing New Illegal Gambling Laws
Kalshi filed a pre-emptive lawsuit against a group of Louisiana officials on Friday, October 23, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana, asking the court to block the state from enforcing its gambling laws against the company's sports event contracts before any formal enforcement action is taken. The defendants named include Attorney General Liz Murrill, Gov. Jeff Landry, Louisiana Gaming Control Board chair Christopher Hebert, the board's gaming division director Dawn Himel, and the Louisiana State Police Gaming Enforcement Division.
What triggered the filing
Kalshi's complaint points to two bills Gov. Landry signed in May — House Bill 53 and House Bill 883 — both of which took effect August 1. HB 883 criminalized operating dual-currency sweepstakes and social gaming platforms in the state and broadened the definition of "gambling by computer." HB 53 elevated several gambling offenses, including gambling by computer, to racketeering charges carrying up to 50 years in prison. Kalshi's filing also cites a December 2025 letter from Gaming Control Board chair Hebert warning licensed sportsbooks that offering sports prediction markets violates state law and could jeopardize their gaming licenses, with Hebert writing that the board considers the activity a form of sports wagering under Louisiana law.
Kalshi's legal argument
Kalshi argues its event contracts are federally regulated products under the Commodity Exchange Act and that Louisiana's statute exempts transactions in stocks, bonds, futures, options, and commodities from its gambling definitions — an exemption Kalshi says the state is declining to apply to its contracts. The company says state officials have shown a "clear intention to violate the Supremacy Clause" and that enforcement is imminent, warning that Louisiana courts could shut down websites and freeze the assets of operators and associated companies, including payment processors and geolocation providers, if the state proceeds. Kalshi is seeking a temporary restraining order along with preliminary and permanent injunctions.
Why it matters
The filing brings the broader prediction-markets jurisdiction fight into the Fifth Circuit for the first time; similar cases are already working through the Third, Sixth, and Ninth Circuits. Louisiana's gaming board, the attorney general's office, and the governor's office had not responded publicly to the suit as of publication, and the board said it does not comment on pending litigation. The case adds another state to the long list of jurisdictions where Kalshi and the CFTC are pressing a federal-preemption argument against state gambling regulators — a legal question that, across the combined set of circuit cases, appears headed toward eventual Supreme Court review.