Nevada gaming regulators are asking a court to fine Kalshi $120,000 per day, alleging that the prediction market operator continued to offer prohibited event contracts in the state after a court-ordered deadline.
The request moves Nevada’s dispute with Kalshi from the broader question of who can regulate prediction markets to a narrower one: whether the company complied with an existing injunction while that larger case continues.
In July, Kalshi agreed to use GeoComply and block trading from Nevada by Aug. 12, 2026. However, the regulator claims its investigators could still access the platform after the deadline. The court has not ruled on the request or imposed a final amount.
If it accepts the state’s position and counts the alleged violation through Aug. 17, the requested penalty would amount to about $600,000.
Kalshi Blames the Testers
According to The Nevada Independent, the control board said in a court filing that Kalshi “has profited enormously from its continued violations of Nevada law.”
State investigators said they were able to buy sports, election and entertainment contracts from Nevada through mobile phones, including through a previous version of the app that was not covered by the geoblocking.
Kalshi disputes the state’s account. In a Friday letter to the board, the company’s attorneys said investigators “were able to place a trade because they had violated federal law by misrepresenting their residence to Kalshi, and, in at least one instance, actively worked to circumvent the Kalshi restrictions that blocked the investigator from trading.”
That creates a practical enforcement dispute. Nevada says Kalshi made access impossible from inside the state. Kalshi says the trades regulators cited depended on testers using false information or bypassing restrictions.
Another Contempt Fight
This is not the first escalation over geofencing. In June, the Nevada Gaming Control Board also asked a court to hold Kalshi in contempt over alleged non-compliance with a May order requiring it to block access to sports, election and entertainment contracts from within Nevada.
That request also cited a proposed penalty of $120,000 per day, but the the judge has not imposed the daily fine in either round. The parties are also waiting for the Ninth Circuit to rule on the broader question of Nevada’s authority over Kalshi’s event contracts.
That leaves two tracks running at once: while the appeals court considers whether Nevada can prohibit the contracts, the state is asking a court to punish Kalshi for allegedly violating the existing order.
financemagnates.com