Derek Brown says Kalshi kept taking bets from Utahns after a federal court ruled that Utah's gambling laws apply
Derek BrownUtah Attorney General, in a statement to FOX 13 News
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.
“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”
Reporting
Where this statement fits
Utah charges Kalshi and its founders with felony gambling promotion; Kalshi calls it 'a crazy overreach'
On October 28, 2026, the Utah Attorney General's Office filed criminal charges in state court against the prediction market KalshiEX LLC and its co-founders, chief executive Tarek Mansour and chief operating officer Luana Lopes Lara, alleging that Kalshi provided online gambling to an undercover agent in Utah. Attorney General Derek Brown says a federal court has already ruled that Utah's gambling laws apply to Kalshi, a ruling Kalshi has appealed. Kalshi calls the case 'a crazy overreach' and says Utah is playing politics. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which sued Utah two days earlier, says federal law preempts state gambling law for event contracts on the exchanges it regulates.
Source and context
Reporting
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.
Before the quotation
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.
After the quotation
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.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
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.
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More from this case
Read the full caseKalshi calls Utah's criminal case 'a crazy overreach' and says the state is playing politics
KalshiEX LLC
“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.”Read statement
CFTC Chairman Michael Selig says event contracts inform the public and that the CFTC will defend its exclusive jurisdiction
“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.”Read statement
CFTC complaint says that, for Congress, transactions regulated under the Commodity Exchange Act are not gambling
Commodity Futures Trading Commission
“For Congress, then, CEA-regulated transactions are not gambling.”Read statement
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The Dispute Index. "Derek Brown says Kalshi kept taking bets from Utahns after a federal court ruled that Utah's gambling laws apply". First published: 2026-10-30. Last updated: 2026-10-30. https://disputeindex.com/events/7239-utah-attorney-general-derek-brown-says-gambling-is