On October 27, 2026, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the federal agency that regulates prediction markets, sued Utah in federal court to stop the state from enforcing its gambling ban against Kalshi, Ars Technica and FOX 13 Salt Lake reported. Utah had filed a civil suit in state court the week before seeking to bar Kalshi from offering bets on sports, elections, politics and other events. Utah is the 10th state the CFTC has sued over prediction markets.
The CFTC asks U.S. District Judge Robert Shelby for an injunction. Its lawyers wrote that “if Utah is permitted to enforce its gambling laws against CFTC-regulated transactions and markets, the harm to the United States's sovereign interests and regulatory jurisdiction could not be undone after final judgment.” CFTC Chairman Michael Selig said, “Congress entrusted the CFTC to be the federal regulator with sole responsibility to oversee these markets.”
Shelby has already ruled against Kalshi on the same question. In August, in a suit Kalshi brought against Utah, he granted the state summary judgment, concluding that “the federal law relied upon by Kalshi does not preempt Utah's ability to enforce its anti-gambling laws.” The Tenth Circuit denied Kalshi an emergency injunction on September 8 while its appeal continues, and the Trump administration has filed briefs in that appeal “siding with Kalshi against Utah,” FOX 13 reported.
On October 28, Utah Attorney General Derek Brown filed criminal charges in Third District Court in Salt Lake County against KalshiEX LLC, CEO Tarek Mansour and COO Luana Lopes Lara. The company and each founder face 13 felony counts and one misdemeanor, based on sports bets offered between September 13 and September 24; the founders were issued summonses, not arrest warrants. The Salt Lake Tribune reported that an agent of the attorney general placed $114 of wagers over two weeks. Kalshi called the charges “a crazy overreach,” according to a statement quoted by the Utah News Dispatch.
The Trump family connection is documented but limited. Kalshi named Donald Trump Jr. a strategic adviser in January 2025, CNBC reported, and its CEO said at the time, “We're not a political company in any way, shape or form.” No source reviewed says whether Trump Jr. still holds the role or that he had any part in the CFTC's lawsuit. For the agency's handling of other prediction markets with Trump-family ties, see NYT: The CFTC Sidelined Staff Who Questioned Trump-Tied Crypto Firms, and an Official Who Pushed One Approval Later Joined That Firm.