Kalshi has asked the full Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals to reconsider a September 25 ruling that allows Ohio and Tennessee to pursue enforcement under their gambling laws against the prediction-market operator. The petition brings the dispute over sports event contracts back before the court as federal regulators advance rulemaking that could shape how such products are classified.
CoinGape and Bloomberg Law reported that Kalshi filed its request on October 9. The company argues that federal commodities law gives the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) authority over contracts traded on designated exchanges, while the states have sought to apply their own gambling rules. The dispute puts the boundary between those regulatory regimes at issue.
What Kalshi is challenging
The September decision came from a three-judge panel. It found that Kalshi had not established that its sports contracts qualified as swaps under federal commodities law. The panel also said that even if the contracts did qualify, that would not mean federal law displaced state gambling laws, according to CoinGape’s account of the ruling.
The panel affirmed the denial of an injunction sought by Kalshi in Ohio and lifted an injunction that had prevented Tennessee regulators from acting. That leaves both states able to pursue their enforcement positions while the broader legal fight continues. Kalshi’s request asks the panel or the full appeals court to reconsider the decision.
The company’s position is that Congress assigned the CFTC exclusive authority over contracts traded on designated exchanges. Kalshi also argues that the panel’s decision conflicts with other federal appellate rulings and existing Sixth Circuit law. Those are Kalshi’s arguments in the petition, not findings that the court has accepted.
The state actions predate the appeal. Ohio’s Casino Control Commission barred Kalshi from making sports contracts in March 2025, while Tennessee’s Sports Wagering Council made a similar request in January 2026. The new petition challenges the legal basis for allowing those state-level measures to proceed. The dispute also forms part of a wider appellate fight over Kalshi’s sports event contracts.
CFTC action adds a federal dimension
The CFTC’s actions on October 9 add a live regulatory question to the court dispute. The agency proposed a rule that would include event contracts involving sports, politics, cultural events and weather within the federal definition of swaps. It said the proposal would be open for public comment for 30 days after publication in the Federal Register.
The agency also issued an interim final rule excluding casino gambling and sportsbook wagers from that definition, with the rule set to take effect upon publication in the Federal Register. The two actions address different product categories, as the CFTC distinguishes event contracts traded on exchanges from conventional gambling products.
Kalshi cited both actions in asking for another hearing. It contends that exchange-traded event contracts are legally distinct from wagers placed with ordinary bookmakers. The CFTC’s proposed approach is not a final rule: its effects will depend on the rulemaking process, including public comment and any subsequent agency action. The agency’s moves add to the federal-state questions in the CFTC’s treatment of event contracts.
Other courts, next steps
The Sixth Circuit case is one of several active disputes over state authority. The primary report says the Third Circuit ruled for Kalshi in a case involving New Jersey, while the Ninth Circuit ruled for Nevada regulators. Kalshi has separately asked the full Ninth Circuit to review its loss there, leaving the company pursuing full-court review in more than one appeals court.
New Jersey authorities are seeking review of the Third Circuit ruling by the US Supreme Court. The National Football League also filed with the Supreme Court on October 8 in support of intervention in the regulation of sports prediction markets, arguing that state gambling regulators are better placed to address sports-betting integrity concerns. Those positions add to the competing claims over which authorities should oversee the products, but do not resolve the Sixth Circuit petition.
The full Sixth Circuit must now decide whether to rehear the case. If it declines, the panel ruling remains in place; if it grants review, the court will consider Kalshi’s challenge again. The underlying issue is whether the contracts fall within federal swap regulation and, if so, what that means for state gambling-law enforcement. Separately, Kalshi must respond by November 9 to New Jersey’s Supreme Court petition, according to the court docket cited by CoinGape.
The post CFTC Action Puts New Focus on Kalshi Sports Contracts appeared first on CasinoBeats.
Kalshi is asking the full Sixth Circuit to revisit a ruling on sports contracts as CFTC rulemaking intensifies the dispute over state gambling laws.
The post CFTC Action Puts New Focus on Kalshi Sports Contracts appeared first on CasinoBeats.