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New York on Friday sued Kalshi, accusing the federally regulated prediction market operator of running an illegal gambling business in the Empire State in the latest legal challenge to one of the country’s hottest startups.
The lawsuit, filed in Manhattan state court by Attorney General Letitia James, alleges Kalshi has been offering New Yorkers illegal gambling products without a state license, exposing consumers — including some between the ages of 18 and 20 — to financial harm while avoiding taxes and regulatory obligations imposed on licensed sportsbooks.
The case, which was first reported by Bloomberg News, marks the latest escalation in the increasingly contentious battle over prediction markets, which has also spilled into a deeply personal feud between Kalshi and chief rival Polymarket.
As The Post exclusively reported Friday, the rivalry between the two firms has become increasingly vicious behind the scenes, with Polymarket CEO Shayne Coplan allegedly referring to Kalshi as a “copycat,” circulating unsubstantiated personal rumors about Kalshi co-founders Tarek Mansour and Luana Lopes Lara and growing increasingly frustrated as Kalshi surpassed Polymarket in trading volume.
Sources told The Post that Coplan became enraged after Donald Trump Jr. joined Kalshi as a strategic adviser before later also joining Polymarket, while both companies have traded accusations over leaks, dirty tricks and efforts to undermine one another.
Kalshi has denied allegations of corporate espionage while Polymarket has denied Coplan spread the alleged rumors.
Friday’s lawsuit adds another headache for Kalshi, which has argued that because it operates as a federally regulated exchange overseen by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, states cannot shut down its markets.
“It’s sad to see this type of political theater from the leadership in our own state,” Kalshi spokeswoman Elisabeth Diana said in a statement to Bloomberg News.
“States can’t just shut down a federally licensed exchange. This would also hurt New Yorkers, who would be driven offshore.”
Gov. Kathy Hochul and James countered that Kalshi has ignored New York’s gaming laws by failing to obtain a license from the New York State Gaming Commission while sidestepping taxes and consumer protection rules that apply to casinos and mobile sportsbooks.
The complaint follows a separate setback for Kalshi earlier this month, when a New York judge ruled the company could not block state gaming regulators from overseeing its sports prediction markets, even as the company has scored victories elsewhere arguing that federal law preempts state gambling regulations.
According to the complaint, New York contends Kalshi’s prediction markets “meet the legal definition of gambling because the outcomes of the events on which its users are betting are uncertain and outside the control of the bettor or hinge on a game of chance.”
The suit comes as Kalshi has rapidly expanded from election betting into markets tied to sports, entertainment, weather and other real-world events, helping propel the company ahead of Polymarket in trading volume.
The Post has sought comment from Kalshi, Hochul and James.
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