Utah authorities have brought criminal charges against prediction market platform Kalshi alongside its chief executive officer, Tarek Mansour, and chief operating officer, Luana Lopes Lara. The state filed a total of 14 criminal counts, which include 12 counts of illegally promoting online gambling, according to reporting by The Salt Lake Tribune and the Associated Press.
Escalating State-Level Legal Battles
The criminal case represents a significant escalation in regulatory scrutiny faced by prediction platforms nationwide. Utah had already initiated civil proceedings against Kalshi over claims that it operates unlawfully within the state. A growing list of jurisdictions—including New York, Nevada, New Mexico, Washington, and Connecticut—have also pursued legal actions against the platform. Meanwhile, competing platform Polymarket has faced lawsuits from New York and Kentucky. In March, Arizona became the first state to launch criminal charges against Kalshi, though a federal judge later blocked that case.
Federal Regulators and Court Rulings
The state enforcement push occurs amid an ongoing jurisdictional dispute involving federal regulators. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) maintains that it holds exclusive regulatory authority over prediction platforms, pushing back against local attempts to apply state anti-gambling laws. Kalshi and Polymarket recently suffered setbacks when two federal appeals courts ruled against their efforts to resist state-level oversight. However, the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in April that the CFTC holds exclusive authority to regulate prediction markets in New Jersey, prompting New Jersey to ask the Supreme Court to review the decision.
Addressing the latest legal action, Kalshi described Utah’s filing as a “crazy overreach” in a statement provided to the Associated Press. The company added: “We look forward to putting a stop to this in court, just like we did in Arizona.”
