Arizona Files Criminal Charges Against Kalshi Prediction Market Alleging an “Illegal Gambling Operation”

And Kalshi was having such a good week.

On Tuesday, Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes filed criminal charges against KalshiEx LLC and Kalshi Trading LLC, the companies behind the Kalshi prediction market platform, for “operating an illegal gambling business in Arizona without a license,” and “for election wagering.” All told, the filing carries 20 charges.

“Kalshi may brand itself as a ‘prediction market,’ but what it’s actually doing is running an illegal gambling operation and taking bets on Arizona elections, both of which violate Arizona law,” Mayes said. “No company gets to decide for itself which laws to follow.”

Mayes alleges Kalshi “accepted bets from Arizona residents on a wide range of events in violation of Arizona law,” like professional and college sports — including prop bets — and whether the SAVE Act would become law. SAVE, or the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, is a proposed federal law that would amend the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 to require “documentary proof of United States citizenship” to register to vote.

All told, the filing carries four counts of election wagering, including bets on the 2028 presidential race ($2 on J.D. Vance winning the big office), the 2026 Arizona gubernatorial race, the 2026 Arizona Republican gubernatorial primary and the 2026 Arizona Secretary of State race. Arizona law prohibits operating an unlicensed wagering business and separately bans betting on elections outright.

The bets specified for on each of the 20 counts ranged from $1-$30. Count 6 was a dollar bet on if Elon Musk would attend the Super Bowl. (He did not.)

“These state-court charges are seriously flawed. It’s gamesmanship,” a Kalshi spokesperson said in a statement provided to The Hollywood Reporter.

“Four days after Kalshi filed suit in federal court, these charges were filed to circumvent federal court and short-circuit the normal judicial process. They attempt to prevent federal courts from evaluating the case based on the merits — whether Kalshi is subject to exclusive federal jurisdiction,” the Kalshi statement continues. “These charges are meritless, and we look forward to fighting them in court.”

“Arizona will not be bullied into letting any company place itself above state law,” Mayes said.

At this point in the story, you’re probably wondering, what about Polymarket? Polymarket is an offshore platform and thus out of reach of U.S. regulators, but certainly not out of reach of bettors’ access.

More than $120 million in total was wagered on this past Sunday’s Oscars on Kalshi, a spokesperson told THR. The predictions markets on both Kalshi and Polymarket got 19 of 24 Academy Awards winners correct.