HAMMOND, La. — A state district judge granted a temporary restraining order Thursday barring Kalshi, Polymarket, Robinhood, Coinbase and several other online prediction market operators from offering unlicensed wagering in Louisiana — prompting an immediate counter-filing in federal court from Kalshi.
District Judge Jeffrey Johnson of the 21st Judicial District Court in Tangipahoa Parish signed the ex parte order at 3:48 p.m., hours after Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill filed a civil enforcement lawsuit accusing 31 corporate entities across 10 parent operators of running illegal online gambling platforms.
The order temporarily prohibits the named operators from offering, accepting or facilitating “event contracts” — defined in the ruling as wagers on uncertain outcomes involving sports, elections, awards and other events — to anyone in Louisiana without a state gaming license. The companies are also ordered to geofence the state to block Louisiana residents from accessing their platforms and are barred from advertising their offerings as lawful in the state.
“It’s not complicated: if you aren’t a licensed gaming operator, you aren’t legal,” Murrill said in a statement announcing the legal action. “Illegal gambling is a crime and is subject to jail time and significant penalties.”
Murrill accused the platforms of using novel financial terminology to bypass state gaming regulations and taxes, noting that the state is also seeking civil penalties against the operators.
“Judges all over the country have overwhelmingly called this activity what it is: gambling,” Murrill said. “Kalshi’s and the other operators’ attempts to make up new words to evade state gambling laws, regulators, and taxes are not fooling anyone.”
Later Thursday, Kalshi escalated the jurisdictional fight by filing an emergency motion for its own temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana. That filing stems from a preemptive federal lawsuit Kalshi brought Oct. 23 against Murrill, Gov. Jeff Landry and the Louisiana Gaming Control Board, creating competing injunction proceedings in state and federal courts. Polymarket has also filed a separate federal challenge.
The operators argue that federal commodities laws and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission hold exclusive jurisdiction over their exchanges, preempting state gaming statutes. A Kalshi spokesperson pushed back against the state’s enforcement effort Thursday, saying in a statement that “derivatives markets are not slot machines or predatory sportsbooks that hook losers and ban winners” and calling state regulation “fundamentally misguided” protectionism.
Along with Kalshi Inc. and QCX LLC, doing business as Polymarket US, the state lawsuit names Robinhood Markets Inc., Coinbase Global Inc., Crypto.com operator Foris DAX Inc., Gemini Trust Company LLC, ForecastEx LLC, Novig operator Ludlow Exchange LLC, Underdog Sports Holdings Inc. and ProphetX Opco LLC, along with affiliated corporate entities.
Louisiana is the 13th state to pursue civil enforcement against prediction market platforms and the first to consolidate major prediction markets, retail brokerages and cryptocurrency exchanges into a single lawsuit.
Thursday’s state restraining order remains in effect for 10 days unless extended by the court. Johnson scheduled a hearing on the state’s motion for a preliminary injunction for Nov. 30 at 9 a.m.