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LANSING – Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has secured a preliminary injunction (PDF) against KalshiEx, LLC (Kalshi), halting the prediction market company from unlawfully offering online sports wagers in Michigan. The preliminary injunction requires Kalshi to maintain geofencing to block Michigan residents and those within Michigan’s borders from having access to its illegal sports betting contracts. Violations of the order would result in a $500,000 per day fine.
“Kalshi long attempted to pass itself off as a legitimate gaming operation in our state, and I am relieved that this order further protects Michigan residents from its predatory, unlicensed practices,” said Attorney General Nessel. “My office will continue to defend Michiganders and enforce our gaming laws, which ensure gambling revenue is regulated and distributed back into our communities.”
Attorney General Nessel filed a lawsuit against Kalshi in March, alleging the derivatives exchange and prediction market company violated Michigan’s Lawful Sports Betting Act (LSBA). The Attorney General asserts in the lawsuit that Kalshi offers an online operation that enables Michigan residents to engage in sports betting under the guise of trading event contracts. The platform allows users to place wagers on the likelihood of sports-related outcomes, conduct transactions through widely used financial systems, and participate in what the lawsuit alleges constitutes unlicensed gambling activity. The Attorney General contends that Kalshi conducts this business in Michigan without the licensing approval of the Michigan Gaming Control Board in violation of the LSBA.
After the lawsuit was filed in state court, Kalshi attempted to move the case to the United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan. Attorney General Nessel then filed the Motion to Remand, which was granted, sending the lawsuit back to the Ingham County Circuit Court.
Prior to the preliminary injunction, Attorney General Nessel secured a temporary restraining order in June temporarily halting Kalshi from engaging in or advertising its internet sports betting operation in Michigan.
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