Nevada State Regulator issues cease and desist letter to Kalshi

Kalshi, which describes itself as “a regulated exchange & prediction market where you can trade on the outcome of real-world events” has been issued a Cease and Desist Letter by the State of Nevada’s Gaming Control Board, ordering it to cease all “unlawful activity with the state of Nevada by 5p, on the 14th March.

Nevada Gaming Control Board Chairman, Kirk D. Hendrick said in a statement: “Every sports pool in Nevada must undergo an extensive investigation prior to licensing, must adhere to strict regulation once licensed, and must pay all applicable taxes and fees. Any unlawful attempts to circumvent Nevada’s right to regulate gaming activity within its borders will be met with the full force of criminal and civil penalties.”

Prediction markets such as Kalshi operate in a different way to traditional sportsbooks, they do not have to follow state by state gambling regulations, says a report on Casino Beats.

The Cease and Desist states that even licensed sports pools in Nevada cannot take wagers on elections, and the fact that Kalshi does so is a “direct violation of Nevada’s public policy.”

What could make this slightly more awkward is that Donald Trump Jr. was recently named a strategic advisor to Kalshi, but nevertheless, legislators are looking into the possibility of banning betting on elections.

Tarek Mansour, CEO at Kalshi posted on X in response, “Kalshi will stay committed to our approach and keep paving the way for regulated prediction markets to thrive in the U.S.

“After the election, we were convinced that the value of prediction markets was now obvious to everyone, and that the regulatory battle for legal prediction markets was over. … We were right, except for the everyone part.”

Featured image courtesy of Stephan Müller (Pexels)

The post Nevada State Regulator issues cease and desist letter to Kalshi appeared first on ReadWrite.