A judge has blocked Illinois from regulating prediction markets in the same way it does sportsbooks and other gambling options, ruling that the trades offered by the likes of Kalshi and Polymarket fall under the sole jurisdiction of federal regulators even if their offerings resemble casino-style betting.
But the injunction handed down Friday in Chicago’s federal district court by Judge Martha Pacold doesn’t shut the door on potential state taxes on the profits raked in by the booming prediction market industry.
Pacold withheld a decision on that front pending further arguments over the regulatory framework that lawmakers authorized in Springfield earlier this year to help pass a $56 billion state budget.
