Iowa can continue to regulate Kalshi under the state’s gambling law, a judge ruled.
US District Judge Stephen Locher said the prediction market was unlikely to win its claim that federal law pre-empts state law.
A federal judge in Iowa refused to stop the state from regulating Kalshi under its gambling laws, a setback for the prediction market operator’s argument that federal commodities law overrides state enforcement.
The ruling matters beyond Iowa because it signals that courts may be skeptical when sports-related event contracts are framed as falling entirely outside state gambling regulation.
US District Judge Stephen Locher denied Kalshi’s motion for a preliminary injunction in the Southern District of Iowa, rejecting the company’s effort to block Iowa from regulating it under state gambling laws.
