Add Michigan to the list of states where Kalshi has been — at least for the moment — banned from offering sports contracts.
On Tuesday, a Michigan judge granted a preliminary injunction against the prediction market giant, forcing Kalshi to block anyone in Michigan from buying sports contracts on the site. Violations of the injunction carry a $500,000 daily fine.
“Kalshi long attempted to pass itself off as a legitimate gaming operation in our state, and I am relieved that this order further protects Michigan residents from its predatory, unlicensed practices,” Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said in a statement. “My office will continue to defend Michiganders and enforce our gaming laws, which ensure gambling revenue is regulated and distributed back into our communities.”
Explaining her reasoning in issuing the injunction, Judge Rosemarie E. Aquilina left little room for interpretation.
“Michigan and its most vµlnerable citizens are suffering and will continue to suffer immediate and irreparable harm absent relief from being exploited by Kalshi’s sports betting operation masquerading as an investment opportunity,” she wrote.
Details of the suit
Nessel first filed the lawsuit in March, claiming Kalshi was breaking the state’s Lawful Sports Betting Act. A temporary restraining order against the company was granted in June. Aquilina cemented the order with the injunction a day before New Jersey asked the U.S. Supreme Court to settle the broader question of whether states have the power to regulate Kalshi’s sports contracts at all.
In her decision, Aquilina outlined seven reasons why she decided to side with the attorney general in a state where legal betting is allowed through numerous sportsbooks regulated by the Michigan Gaming Control Board. Among the reasons, she noted Kalshi allows people to use its site at age 18 instead of the state’s age 21 requirement, Kalshi “eludes the comprehensive patron protection mechanisms found in Michigan’s regulatory framework,” and the company has a “massive and unfair advantage over the entities that comply with Michigan’s regulatory structure, which greatly disrupts the industry.”
In practical terms, the order requires Kalshi to stop offering sports prediction markets in Michigan. The company cannot take deposits tied to sports contracts, allow new Michigan users to open or fund accounts, or advertise its sports products in the state — including through third parties or influencers.
Michigan joins Nevada and Washington as states that have successfully stopped Kalshi — at least for the moment — from offering sports contracts in their states.
