A federal judge has blocked the state of Arizona from bringing criminal charges against prediction market supplier Kalshi, not less than briefly, in response to a movement from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
District Judge Michael Liburdi, within the District of Arizona, dominated Friday that Arizona can’t maintain an arraignment of Kalshi as scheduled on Monday, April 13. Arizona introduced final month it might file 20 criminal charges against Kalshi for providing what the state claimed had been betting merchandise in violation of Arizona regulation.
“Defendants are temporarily restrained and enjoined from enforcing AZ’s gambling laws in any criminal or civil enforcement actions to any contracts listed on CFTC-regulated [designated contract markets],” the judge dominated within the non permanent restraining order, according to Paradigm senior regulatory counsel Stefan Schropp.
In an announcement Friday, CFTC Chair Michael Selig mentioned the regulator “appreciated” the judge’s choice.
“Arizona’s decision to weaponize state criminal law against companies that comply with federal law sets a dangerous precedent, and the court’s order today sends a clear message that intimidation is not an acceptable tactic to circumvent federal law,” he mentioned.
The CFTC sued Arizona and two different states arguing that prediction markets, in any other case generally known as occasion contracts, are swaps topic to the federal company’s supervision, and that its function preempts state regulation.
It’s a view that is seen largely combined leads to courtroom; state courts have usually sided with states, reminiscent of when a Nevada state courtroom dominated that the Gaming Control Board might briefly block Kalshi whereas a broader case strikes ahead.
Federal courts have had completely different outcomes; the Third Circuit Court of Appeals dominated earlier this week that prediction markets are topic to CFTC rule, and it was as much as the CFTC’s discretion on if it wished to dam suppliers from providing sports-related merchandise or not.
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals declined to weigh in on the aforementioned Nevada motion, permitting that state courtroom to dam Kalshi, however it should maintain a listening to on a consolidated case subsequent week permitting numerous suppliers and different events to argue.
Judge Liburdi of Arizona granted the CFTC’s movement to dam the Arizona state motion against Kalshi two days after denying Kalshi’s own motion for a preliminary injunction against the state (though the events argued on completely different grounds).
UPDATE (April 11, 2026, 01:16 UTC): Adds context.
