Utah charges Kalshi and its founders with felony gambling promotion; Kalshi calls it 'a crazy overreach'
Utah's attorney general charged Kalshi and co-founders Tarek Mansour and Luana Lopes Lara with felony gambling promotion over sports wagers placed from Utah. Kalshi calls the case political overreach, and the CFTC says federal law overrides Utah's gambling laws for its exchanges.
Case period:
Published by The Dispute Index editorial teamPublished Updated
Overview
The criminal information, filed in the Third District Court in Salt Lake County, charges KalshiEX LLC with one count of pattern of unlawful activity, a second-degree felony, 12 counts of online gambling promotion, a third-degree felony, and one count of general gambling promotion, a class A misdemeanor. Mansour and Lopes Lara are named as co-defendants and were issued summonses.
The charges rest on an undercover account. According to the information and the probable cause affidavit quoted by FOX 13 News, Special Agent Scott Eggerman of the attorney general's office opened a Kalshi account with a Utah address, phone number, bank account and IP address, and between September 13 and September 24, 2026, placed 12 wagers on nine NFL, MLB, NHL, MLS and college football games. The state says Kalshi earned fees on each wager.
In a statement, Brown said that calling the product a prediction market does not change what it is and that federal registration does not put a company above the law. He also said a federal court had already ruled that Utah's gambling laws apply to Kalshi. That ruling, issued August 4 in a suit Kalshi brought against state officials, held that federal commodities law does not preempt Utah's enforcement of its anti-gambling laws against the company; Kalshi has appealed, and the Tenth Circuit denied its request for an injunction while the appeal proceeds. Kalshi responded to the charges that it looks forward to stopping the case in court, "just like we did in Arizona." KUER reports that a federal judge blocked Arizona's criminal case against Kalshi and that Arizona is seeking to revive it.
The charges came two days after the United States and the CFTC sued Utah and Brown in federal court. Their complaint says the event contracts Utah targets are swaps under the Commodity Exchange Act, that the CFTC has exclusive jurisdiction over them, and that Utah cannot regulate or prohibit trading on exchanges the commission has approved. CFTC Chairman Michael Selig said Utah seeks to shut down prediction markets and that the commission will defend its jurisdiction.
Read the full background
This case concerns Kalshi's offering of sports event contracts to users in Utah. Kalshi is a designated contract market registered with the CFTC. Utah treats the challenged contracts as illegal gambling, while Kalshi and the CFTC contest state authority over the offering.
In February 2026, Kalshi sued Utah Governor Spencer J. Cox, Attorney General Derek Brown and other state officials in federal court, seeking a declaration that the Commodity Exchange Act preempts Utah's gambling laws as applied to its exchange. On August 4, 2026, U.S. District Judge Robert J. Shelby ruled that the act does not preempt Utah's enforcement of its anti-gambling laws against Kalshi. He granted summary judgment to the officials and denied Kalshi's motion for a preliminary injunction as moot. Kalshi appealed to the Tenth Circuit, and on September 8 a two-judge panel of that court denied its emergency motion for an injunction pending appeal. The attorney general's office said on October 20 that the appeal remained pending, and we found no decision on it as of October 30, 2026.
The state filed a civil suit against Kalshi on October 20. The United States and CFTC filed their federal complaint on October 26, before the criminal charges reported on October 28.
People in this case
Derek BrownDirectly involved
Michael S. SeligCommented
Timeline
6 timeline entries on this page. Dates: August 4, 2026 to October 28, 2026
August 2026
Federal judge rules the Commodity Exchange Act does not preempt Utah's gambling laws as applied to Kalshi
Claim
In the suit Kalshi filed in February against Utah Governor Spencer J. Cox, Attorney General Derek Brown and other state officials, U.S. District Judge Robert J. Shelby rules that the Commodity Exchange Act does not preempt Utah's enforcement of its anti-gambling laws against Kalshi. He grants summary judgment to the officials, denies Kalshi's motion for a preliminary injunction as moot and closes the case. Kalshi then appeals to the Tenth Circuit.
[01]KalshiEX LLC v. Cox, No. 2:26-cv-00151 (D. Utah): memorandum decision and order
Memorandum decision and order entered August 4, 2026, in the suit KalshiEX LLC filed in February 2026 against Utah Governor Spencer J. Cox, Attorney General Derek Brown and three other state officials. Judge Shelby treated the officials' motion to dismiss as a motion for summary judgment, held that the Commodity Exchange Act neither expressly nor impliedly preempts Utah's enforcement of its anti-gambling laws against Kalshi, granted summary judgment to the officials, denied Kalshi's motion for a preliminary injunction as moot and closed the case. Copy from the CourtListener RECAP archive of the court record.
KalshiEX LLC v. Cox, No. 2:26-cv-00151 (D. Utah): memorandum decision and orderECF No. 65, pages 1-2 and 24-25[02]Utah sues Kalshi, alleging its prediction market is gambling
Utah Attorney General's Office release announcing a civil lawsuit in state court against KalshiEX LLC and related entities. It summarizes the earlier federal case Kalshi brought against Utah officials in February 2026, the August summary judgment for Utah and the Tenth Circuit's September 8 denial of an injunction pending appeal, and quotes Attorney General Derek Brown.
[03]Utah ups the ante in Kalshi gambling fight with felony charges
KUER report on the criminal charges against Kalshi and its co-founders, the undercover wagers described in the charges, the CFTC suit against Utah and Kalshi's response.
September 2026
Tenth Circuit panel denies Kalshi an injunction pending appeal
Claim
A two-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit denies Kalshi's emergency motion for an injunction pending appeal. The Utah Attorney General's Office describes the motion as a request to block enforcement of Utah's laws while the appeal proceeds. The brief order says Kalshi has not shown that the four factors for that relief weigh in its favor. The attorney general's office said on October 20 that the appeal itself remained pending.
[04]KalshiEX LLC v. Cox, No. 26-4100 (10th Cir.): order denying injunction pending appeal
Two-page per curiam order of a Tenth Circuit panel (Circuit Judges Hartz and Kelly) in Kalshi's appeal from the District of Utah judgment in KalshiEX LLC v. Cox. Applying the four factors in Tenth Circuit Rule 8.1, the panel says Kalshi has not shown they weigh in its favor and denies Kalshi's emergency motion for an injunction pending appeal. The order does not decide the appeal itself. Copy published by Wolters Kluwer.
KalshiEX LLC v. Cox, No. 26-4100 (10th Cir.): order denying injunction pending appealDocument 19, order filed September 8, 2026[02]Utah sues Kalshi, alleging its prediction market is gambling
Utah Attorney General's Office release announcing a civil lawsuit in state court against KalshiEX LLC and related entities. It summarizes the earlier federal case Kalshi brought against Utah officials in February 2026, the August summary judgment for Utah and the Tenth Circuit's September 8 denial of an injunction pending appeal, and quotes Attorney General Derek Brown.
Utah investigator opens an undercover Kalshi account
Incident
According to the criminal information, Special Agent Scott Eggerman of the Utah Attorney General's Office opens a Kalshi account under an undercover Utah identity and, from September 13 through September 24, places 12 wagers on nine sporting events while in Salt Lake and Davis counties.
[05]State of Utah v. KalshiEX LLC, Tarek Mansour and Luana Lopes Lara: co-defendant information (Third District Court, Salt Lake County)
Criminal information filed by the Utah Attorney General's Office in the Third Judicial District Court, Salt Lake Department, and sworn by Special Agent Scott Eggerman. It charges KalshiEX LLC, with co-founders Tarek Mansour and Luana Lopes Lara as co-defendants, with one count of pattern of unlawful activity, 12 counts of online gambling promotion and one count of gambling promotion, based on wagers placed from Utah between September 13 and September 26, 2026. FOX 13 News published the copy.
[06]Utah levels criminal charges against Kalshi and some of its executives
FOX 13 News (KSTU, Salt Lake City) report on the criminal charges, with excerpts from the probable cause affidavit, Attorney General Derek Brown's statement to FOX 13 and Kalshi's statement in response.
October 2026
Utah files a civil suit against Kalshi in state court
Claim
The Utah Attorney General's Office sues KalshiEX LLC and related entities in state court, alleging that Kalshi's event contracts on sports, elections and other outcomes are illegal gambling and a public nuisance, and asking the court to stop Kalshi from offering them in Utah.
[02]Utah sues Kalshi, alleging its prediction market is gambling
Utah Attorney General's Office release announcing a civil lawsuit in state court against KalshiEX LLC and related entities. It summarizes the earlier federal case Kalshi brought against Utah officials in February 2026, the August summary judgment for Utah and the Tenth Circuit's September 8 denial of an injunction pending appeal, and quotes Attorney General Derek Brown.
The United States and the CFTC sue Utah in federal court
Claim
The United States and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission sue Utah and Attorney General Derek Brown in the U.S. District Court for the District of Utah, arguing that federal law preempts Utah's gambling laws as applied to CFTC-regulated exchanges and asking the court to bar the state from enforcing them.
[07]United States and CFTC v. State of Utah and Derek Brown, No. 2:26-cv-01055 (D. Utah): complaint
Complaint for declaratory and injunctive relief filed October 26, 2026, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Utah. The United States and the CFTC argue that event contracts on CFTC-registered exchanges are swaps under the Commodity Exchange Act and that federal law preempts Utah's gambling laws as applied to them, and ask the court to bar Utah from enforcing those laws against the exchanges.
[08]Commodity Futures Trading Commission
CFTC press release announcing the federal lawsuit against Utah, with a statement from CFTC Chairman Michael S. Selig. It says the suit follows Utah's civil enforcement actions in state court against CFTC-regulated markets and that the commission has started proceedings against nine other states.
CFTC Sues to Block State Enforcement in Utah Amid Ongoing Efforts to Preserve Jurisdiction · Commodity Futures Trading CommissionRelease Number 9315-26[09]Feds sue Utah over attempt to ban Kalshi; AG files criminal charges
KSL.com report on the federal lawsuit by the United States and the CFTC against Utah and on the criminal information the attorney general's office filed the same week, with quotations from both filings.
Utah files criminal charges against Kalshi and its co-founders
Claim
The Utah Attorney General's Office files a criminal information in the Third District Court charging KalshiEX LLC, with co-founders Tarek Mansour and Luana Lopes Lara as co-defendants, with pattern of unlawful activity, 12 counts of online gambling promotion and one count of general gambling promotion. Kalshi calls the case an overreach.
[05]State of Utah v. KalshiEX LLC, Tarek Mansour and Luana Lopes Lara: co-defendant information (Third District Court, Salt Lake County)
Criminal information filed by the Utah Attorney General's Office in the Third Judicial District Court, Salt Lake Department, and sworn by Special Agent Scott Eggerman. It charges KalshiEX LLC, with co-founders Tarek Mansour and Luana Lopes Lara as co-defendants, with one count of pattern of unlawful activity, 12 counts of online gambling promotion and one count of gambling promotion, based on wagers placed from Utah between September 13 and September 26, 2026. FOX 13 News published the copy.
[06]Utah levels criminal charges against Kalshi and some of its executives
FOX 13 News (KSTU, Salt Lake City) report on the criminal charges, with excerpts from the probable cause affidavit, Attorney General Derek Brown's statement to FOX 13 and Kalshi's statement in response.
[09]Feds sue Utah over attempt to ban Kalshi; AG files criminal charges
KSL.com report on the federal lawsuit by the United States and the CFTC against Utah and on the criminal information the attorney general's office filed the same week, with quotations from both filings.
[03]Utah ups the ante in Kalshi gambling fight with felony charges
KUER report on the criminal charges against Kalshi and its co-founders, the undercover wagers described in the charges, the CFTC suit against Utah and Kalshi's response.
Response record
Responses
Choose one response filter, or select All responses to see the full record.
4 responses. Newest first.
Derek BrownUtah Attorney General, in a statement to FOX 13 NewsDirectly involvedBefore this statement
FOX 13 News reports that the Utah Attorney General's Office filed formal criminal charges against Kalshi and two of its executives, accusing them of allowing an undercover agent to place money on the outcome of athletic events in violation of Utah's anti-gambling laws.
"Gambling is illegal in Utah, whether you place the bet, run the game, or promote it. Calling it a ‘prediction market’ doesn’t change what it is, and being federally registered doesn’t put a company above the law. A federal court has already ruled that Utah’s gambling laws apply to Kalshi. Kalshi kept taking bets from Utahns anyway. That is illegal, and we’re putting a stop to it"
CondemnedCase context: Utah charges Kalshi and its founders with felony gambling promotion; Kalshi calls it 'a crazy overreach'
Full statement and sources
Utah Attorney General Derek Brown says gambling is illegal in Utah whether a person places the bet, runs the game or promotes it, that neither the prediction market label nor federal registration changes that, and that Kalshi kept taking bets from Utahns after a federal court ruled that the state's gambling laws apply to it.
After the statement
FOX 13 reports that a probable cause affidavit filed with the charges says Utah Attorney General's investigator Scott Eggerman used a Utah-based IP address to create a Kalshi account and place money on the outcome of sports games.
Why this label?
Relative to Kalshi's offering of sports event contracts to Utah users, Brown calls the offering illegal gambling and says the state is putting a stop to it.
This label describes the statement's response within the context above.
KalshiEX LLCKalshiEX LLC, in a statement to FOX 13 NewsDirectly involvedBefore this statement
FOX 13 News reports that Kalshi co-founders Tarek Mansour and Luana Lopes Lara were charged along with the company and were issued summons to appear in court.
"This is a crazy overreach; Utah is clearly playing politics. We look forward to putting a stop to this in court, just like we did in Arizona."
Defended or excusedCase context: Utah charges Kalshi and its founders with felony gambling promotion; Kalshi calls it 'a crazy overreach'
Full statement and sources
Kalshi says Utah's criminal case against the company and its co-founders is a crazy overreach and that the state is clearly playing politics, and says it expects to stop the case in court as it did in Arizona.
After the statement
FOX 13 adds that in Arizona, a federal judge blocked that state's prosecution of Kalshi.
Why this label?
Relative to its offering of sports event contracts in Utah, Kalshi defends continuing its business by rejecting the state's criminal enforcement as political overreach.
This label describes the statement's response within the context above.
Michael S. SeligChairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, in a CFTC press releaseBefore this statement
The CFTC announced on October 27 that it had sued Utah to block the state's efforts to shut down CFTC-registered contract markets using state laws, following Utah's civil enforcement actions in state court. Selig opened his statement by saying that Utah seeks to shut down prediction markets across a wide variety of markets.
"Event contracts do not just serve hedging and investment purposes—they also provide the public with information about the outcome of future events. Congress entrusted the CFTC to be the federal regulator with sole responsibility to oversee these markets. As I’ve said before, the CFTC has the expertise and responsibility to defend its exclusive jurisdiction over commodity derivatives, and that’s exactly what we’ll do."
Defended or excusedCase context: Utah charges Kalshi and its founders with felony gambling promotion; Kalshi calls it 'a crazy overreach'
Full statement and sources
CFTC Chairman Michael Selig says event contracts serve hedging and investment purposes and give the public information about the outcome of future events, that Congress made the CFTC the sole regulator of these markets, and that the commission will defend its exclusive jurisdiction.
After the statement
The release says that if a state challenges the lawful operation of a derivatives exchange, the commission will protect federal sovereign interests, and that the CFTC has started legal proceedings against nine other states.
CFTC Sues to Block State Enforcement in Utah Amid Ongoing Efforts to Preserve Jurisdiction · Commodity Futures Trading CommissionRelease Number 9315-26Why this label?
Relative to Kalshi's offering of event contracts, Selig defends their public information, hedging and investment functions. His jurisdiction argument supplies the legal basis for federal oversight.
This label describes the statement's response within the context above.
Commodity Futures Trading CommissionCommodity Futures Trading Commission, co-plaintiff with the United States in the federal complaint against UtahDirectly involvedBefore this statement
The United States and the CFTC filed this complaint on October 26, responding to the enforcement action Utah filed against Kalshi and other companies in state court on October 20. Just before this sentence, the complaint says Congress excluded transactions conducted on or subject to the rules of a registered entity under the Commodity Exchange Act from the definition of a bet or wager in the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006.
"For Congress, then, CEA-regulated transactions are not gambling."
Challenged the characterizationCase context: Utah charges Kalshi and its founders with felony gambling promotion; Kalshi calls it 'a crazy overreach'
Full statement and sources
In its federal complaint against Utah, the CFTC argues that Congress, by excluding transactions on CFTC-registered exchanges from the federal definition of a bet or wager, treated transactions regulated under the Commodity Exchange Act as something other than gambling.
After the statement
The complaint goes on to argue that Congress embraced preemption for swap transactions in the Dodd-Frank Act. It asks the court to declare Utah's laws preempted as applied to transactions on CFTC-regulated exchanges and to bar the state from enforcing them against those exchanges.
Why this label?
Relative to Kalshi's offering, the joint complaint challenges treating federally regulated event contracts as gambling.
This label describes the statement's response within the context above.
Sources
(9)
Original text
State of Utah v. KalshiEX LLC, Tarek Mansour and Luana Lopes Lara: co-defendant information (Third District Court, Salt Lake County)
Relevant passage: Information, Counts 1-14
About this source
Criminal information filed by the Utah Attorney General's Office in the Third Judicial District Court, Salt Lake Department, and sworn by Special Agent Scott Eggerman. It charges KalshiEX LLC, with co-founders Tarek Mansour and Luana Lopes Lara as co-defendants, with one count of pattern of unlawful activity, 12 counts of online gambling promotion and one count of gambling promotion, based on wagers placed from Utah between September 13 and September 26, 2026. FOX 13 News published the copy.
- Author
- Utah Attorney General's Office
- Published
- Accessed
Original text
KalshiEX LLC v. Cox, No. 26-4100 (10th Cir.): order denying injunction pending appeal
Relevant passage: Document 19, order filed September 8, 2026
About this source
Two-page per curiam order of a Tenth Circuit panel (Circuit Judges Hartz and Kelly) in Kalshi's appeal from the District of Utah judgment in KalshiEX LLC v. Cox. Applying the four factors in Tenth Circuit Rule 8.1, the panel says Kalshi has not shown they weigh in its favor and denies Kalshi's emergency motion for an injunction pending appeal. The order does not decide the appeal itself. Copy published by Wolters Kluwer.
- Author
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
- Published
- Accessed
Original text
KalshiEX LLC v. Cox, No. 2:26-cv-00151 (D. Utah): memorandum decision and order
Relevant passage: ECF No. 65, pages 1-2 and 24-25
About this source
Memorandum decision and order entered August 4, 2026, in the suit KalshiEX LLC filed in February 2026 against Utah Governor Spencer J. Cox, Attorney General Derek Brown and three other state officials. Judge Shelby treated the officials' motion to dismiss as a motion for summary judgment, held that the Commodity Exchange Act neither expressly nor impliedly preempts Utah's enforcement of its anti-gambling laws against Kalshi, granted summary judgment to the officials, denied Kalshi's motion for a preliminary injunction as moot and closed the case. Copy from the CourtListener RECAP archive of the court record.
- Author
- U.S. District Judge Robert J. Shelby, District of Utah
- Published
- Accessed
Reporting
Utah ups the ante in Kalshi gambling fight with felony charges
Relevant passage: Article
About this source
KUER report on the criminal charges against Kalshi and its co-founders, the undercover wagers described in the charges, the CFTC suit against Utah and Kalshi's response.
- Author
- Hugo Rikard-Bell
- Published
- Accessed
Reporting
Feds sue Utah over attempt to ban Kalshi; AG files criminal charges
Relevant passage: Article
About this source
KSL.com report on the federal lawsuit by the United States and the CFTC against Utah and on the criminal information the attorney general's office filed the same week, with quotations from both filings.
- Author
- Cassidy Wixom
- Published
- Accessed
Reporting
Utah levels criminal charges against Kalshi and some of its executives
Relevant passage: Article
About this source
FOX 13 News (KSTU, Salt Lake City) report on the criminal charges, with excerpts from the probable cause affidavit, Attorney General Derek Brown's statement to FOX 13 and Kalshi's statement in response.
- Author
- Ben Winslow
- Published
- Accessed
Official statement
Utah sues Kalshi, alleging its prediction market is gambling
Relevant passage: Press release
About this source
Utah Attorney General's Office release announcing a civil lawsuit in state court against KalshiEX LLC and related entities. It summarizes the earlier federal case Kalshi brought against Utah officials in February 2026, the August summary judgment for Utah and the Tenth Circuit's September 8 denial of an injunction pending appeal, and quotes Attorney General Derek Brown.
- Author
- Utah Attorney General's Office
- Published
- Accessed
Official statement
CFTC Sues to Block State Enforcement in Utah Amid Ongoing Efforts to Preserve Jurisdiction
Relevant passage: Release Number 9315-26
About this source
CFTC press release announcing the federal lawsuit against Utah, with a statement from CFTC Chairman Michael S. Selig. It says the suit follows Utah's civil enforcement actions in state court against CFTC-regulated markets and that the commission has started proceedings against nine other states.
- Author
- Commodity Futures Trading Commission
- Published
- Accessed
Original text
United States and CFTC v. State of Utah and Derek Brown, No. 2:26-cv-01055 (D. Utah): complaint
Relevant passage: ECF No. 1
About this source
Complaint for declaratory and injunctive relief filed October 26, 2026, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Utah. The United States and the CFTC argue that event contracts on CFTC-registered exchanges are swaps under the Commodity Exchange Act and that federal law preempts Utah's gambling laws as applied to them, and ask the court to bar Utah from enforcing those laws against the exchanges.
- Author
- United States Department of Justice and Commodity Futures Trading Commission
- Published
- Accessed
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- Title
- Utah charges Kalshi and its founders with felony gambling promotion; Kalshi calls it 'a crazy overreach'
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The Dispute Index. "Utah charges Kalshi and its founders with felony gambling promotion; Kalshi calls it 'a crazy overreach'". First published: 2026-10-30. Last updated: 2026-10-30. https://disputeindex.com/cases/utah-criminal-charges-kalshi-founders