Michigan Atty. Gen. Dana Nessel has secured a preliminary injunction against Kalshi, barring the prediction market company from offering sports betting contracts to individuals located in the state.
Ingham County Circuit Court Judge Rosemarie Aquilina signed the order Tuesday. The injunction follows a temporary restraining order Nessel won in June, which was later continued into August.
The order carries a $500,000-per-day fine for noncompliance and requires Kalshi to use geolocation technology to block Michigan users. It stems from a lawsuit Nessel filed in March alleging the company’s sports event contracts violate the state’s Lawful Sports Betting Act.
“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,” 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.”
What the injunction requires
The preliminary injunction ruling bars Kalshi from offering, listing, executing or settling sports contracts to anyone located in Michigan. That includes any products that are “functionally similar” to sports betting, such as parlays, moneyline bets, in-game betting and prop bets.
In addition, the prediction market cannot advertise to anyone located in Michigan or to anyone with a Michigan address.
To comply, Kalshi must use a third-party geolocation services provider that is licensed by the Michigan Gaming Control Board.
Aquilina raised similar concerns to Nessel in her ruling.
“Michigan and its most vulnerable 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 to begin the order.
The court’s reasoning
Kalshi’s minimum age requirement was a key factor in Aquilina’s ruling. Licensed sports betting operators require users to be 21, while Kalshi allows wagers starting at 18.
Aquilina also cited Kalshi’s “unfair advantage” over licensed operators who do comply with Michigan’s gaming laws. She referenced four more reasons in her ruling:
- Exploiting mental health issues: The order states Kalshi “takes advantage of serious mental health issues” without providing the consumer protections built into Michigan’s regulatory framework.
- Evading patron protections: Kalshi sidesteps the patron-protection mechanisms required of licensed operators in the state.
- Lost state funding: Kalshi’s unlicensed operation undercuts funding streams tied to gaming taxes, including school funding, compulsive gambling prevention programs, economic development, and first responders.
- Impact on Detroit and tribal governments: The order notes Detroit relies on gaming tax revenue for law enforcement, public safety, and infrastructure, and that Kalshi’s conduct also deprives tribal governments of revenue needed to fund services while disregarding tribal sovereignty.
What comes next
The preliminary injunction remains in effect until a final order is issued in the case, which continues in Ingham County Circuit Court.
Michigan is one of several states that have taken legal action against Kalshi over its sports event contracts. Six other states have successfully enforced state-level gambling laws against Kalshi to this point:
New Jersey, which suffered an unfavorable ruling back in April, petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to make a final decision on the fate of prediction market sports contracts.
